US chip maker Intel Corporation has invested Y5 billion (US$ 42.4 million) in Bitwallet, the Toyko-based firm that provides the EDY pre-paid contactless electronic money system.
BitWallet was established in January 2001 to provide EDY, which offers a pre-paid reloadable contactless smart card based on Sony's FeliCa technology. Customers pay for purchases by waving the card over a specially-equipped reader.
More than 17 million EDY cards have been issued and the e-money service is available at over 31,000 retail shops and 1400 e-commerce sites in Japan.
In a statement, Intel says it will work with Bitwallet to drive use of the EDY e-payments system for online transactions. In fiscal 2005, 110 million transactions were settled via the Edy services, of which just two - three per cent were Internet-based payments. The funds will also be used to develop and deploy EDY terminals at retail stores.
Shigeyuki Kawai, president and CEO of bitWallet, says the investment "allows us to reinforce our operating base and enables us to make EDY available to a greater number of PC Internet users and to quickly expand the service throughout the country".
Kazumasa Yoshida, president of Intel Japan, adds: "BitWallet's EDY combined with Intel's innovative platform technologies will enable consumers to enjoy proven, ease-of-use e-money services."