Japan's Mercari to buy Origami in latest cashless payments consolidation (updated)
23/01/2020 07:23
* Mercari is buying Origami for an undisclosed amount
* SoftBank last year said it would merge Yahoo Japan with
Line
* Japanese government is encouraging shift to cashless
payments
(Adds background on industry consolidation)
TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Fleamarket app operator Mercari
Inc 4385.T said on Thursday it would buy QR code payment app
operator Origami for an undisclosed amount in the latest example
of industry consolidation as cashless payments take off in
Japan.
The acquisition by Mercari, which has its own cashless
payments business, comes as SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T has
attracted users to its service, PayPay, through campaigns
offering big discounts on purchases made through its app.
SoftBank's domestic wireless business said last year it
would merge Line Pay operator Line Corp 3938.T with its
internet subsidiary, leaving Mercari and other smaller
contenders like Origami look increasingly underweight as, with
government encouragement, consumers shift away from their
reliance on cash.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Kim Coghill and Sam
Holmes)
((sam.nussey@tr.com; https://twitter.com/SamNusseyRTRS;
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