5 "conveniences" you don't know about the PayPay app PayPay app, 5 "conveniences" you don't know

Although it was a latecomer as a smartphone payment service, "PayPay" quickly gained popularity thanks to its 10 billion yen return campaign. The cumulative number of registered users has now exceeded 25 million (as of February 19, 2020). The number of member stores is about 2 million (as of March 6, 2020), making it an easy-to-use service. The "PayPay" app is full of easy-to-use points. Here are five points that I particularly like.

○ Point 1: Full of playfulness! Customize the card on the home screen

My favorite part of the "PayPay" app is that you can change the card part of the home screen. This “Kisekae” has been unique to “PayPay” since the beginning of the service, and I was impressed with how playful it was.

Usually, payment apps tend to be inorganic, with just a list of available menu names. Even if it's just the card part, you can color it with your favorite design, so it's fun every time you use it. My hobby is diving, so I chose an ocean design. The contrast with the red background makes it stand out, and the back of the card has a beach umbrella and a floating ring on it, making it very attractive.

When I looked at the "Kisekae" page for the first time in a long time, the number of types increased dramatically, and there were 80 types. There are also designs for Halloween, snowy mountains, and 2020, so it would be fun to change depending on the season and mood.

○ Point 2・Payment for lunch and drinking parties is smart

There is an increasing number of smartphone payment services that allow you to send money between friends. The reason is that even if payments from people to stores become cashless, if people-to-people payments are not cashless, they will always need cash. However, electronic money such as transportation IC cards cannot be paid without a terminal, so smartphone payments using QR codes are the only way to exchange money with friends.

The operation is really easy, just have your own QR code read, or vice versa, read the other party's QR code, enter the amount and send it. You can pay in increments of 1 yen, and with PayPay, once you use it, the name of the friend you sent recently will be saved, so you can select it from the second time onwards, making it even more convenient.

Even if you are far away, you can search for the other party by mobile phone number etc. and send money, so it is convenient for returning money that friends have paid for ceremonial occasions. It can be used free of charge, so if you often go out with the same members, using this remittance will make it very smart to split the bill.

○Point 3: No need for a convenience store! Pay bills at your fingertips

Did you know that bills with barcodes, such as those for shopping, utility bills, and taxes, can be paid using smartphone payment apps? In fact, you can do it with "PayPay" by "billing payment". Currently, we are gradually increasing the number of service providers, for example, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Kansai Electric Power Company, Tokyo Gas Company, Osaka Gas Company, etc., as well as municipal governments.

If the municipality where you live supports "bill payment", you can complete the tax payment at hand without going to a convenience store. This “billing payment” helped me when I was on a business trip abroad or when I was hospitalized. You can't pay everything just because it's a bill with a barcode, but if it's a corresponding bill, you can get a 0.5% refund by paying, so it's a good deal.

○Point 4・Confirm payment status by graph every month

I often hear people say, "I'm worried about spending too much money with smartphone payments." In fact, the number of bills does not decrease physically, and the feeling of paying money is thin, so I think that there are many times when you end up using too much.

Therefore, I regularly check the "usage report". You can see how much money you are spending this month on the graph display. Such a display method is unique to "PayPay". If it is less than last month, it is a guideline that it is still okay to use. If you're worried about using too much, I think you can use smartphone payments without worrying about wasting money if you decide how much you'll spend each month in advance and charge that amount.

○ Point 5 · You can see "how much more" of the campaign

It is a "return campaign" that is often held, but there are many cases where the upper limit of the amount that can be returned is set, such as how much it is once and how much it is during the period. Although you want to get a good deal from the campaign, you may be wondering if you've reached the limit yet. For each campaign, there is a countdown such as "○○ yen remaining until the maximum amount granted", so it is easy to understand how much you can get. I want this feature to be introduced to other smartphone payment apps.

Even if you don't know where to look for campaign information, you can check the current campaign information on this "Special Offer" page. By counting down the remaining amount like this, am I the only one who is motivated to say, "I'll get it up to the upper limit!"?