
ASIA
Japan : NTT DoCoMo announced that they will launch DCMX™ consumer
credit services via iD™, DoCoMo's brand and platform for mobile
credit cards. Users of Osaifu-Keitai™ phones with wallet functions
will be able to choose from two plans to make highly secure purchases
from small to large amounts using their phones as DoCoMo-issued credit
cards. Above shows DCMX SITE image.
DCMX mini™, to be
launched on April 28, will offer a monthly credit line of 10,000 yen.
Making a purchase will be as simple as waving one's phone in front
of a dedicated iD reader/writer in a store, with no signature required.
Payments will be billed together with the user's monthly DoCoMo phone
charges. There will be no membership fee to use the service. Customers
from age 12 will be able to start using the service immediately after
applying through the DCMX i-mode™ site.
Credit lines from 200,000
yen, as well as cash advances, will be available under a separate
service, also called DCMX, which will be launched after DCMX mini.
Purchases costing over 10,000 yen will require the customer to enter
a four-digit password. The user can choose to pay in full, or in fixed
installments or on a revolving-credit basis. There will be no membership
fee during the first year, but in subsequent years a fee of 1,312
yen (including tax) will accrue if no transaction has taken place
within 12 months. Customers from age 18 will be able to apply either
via the DCMX i-mode site or in writing, after which they will be screened.
Applications for the DCMX service will be accepted from the end of
May. Payments made via DCMX will earn points that can be redeemed
for discounts on products and services from DoCoMo and other participating
establishments. Users will also be issued either a Visa or MasterCard
plastic card to make purchases at stores overseas, as well as at stores
in Japan that do not have iD reader/writers.
Users under age 20 will
require a guardian's consent, and must apply at a DoCoMo Shop, accompanied
by a guardian.
Customers will be able
to use their mobile phones to confirm remaining credit balances. For
security, DoCoMo Osaifu-Keitai phones can be locked remotely if misplaced
or stolen. The user will merely need to call their misplaced/stolen
phone from a registered phone number. Or, using the Omakase Lock™
service, which will be introduced later, the user will be able to
call DoCoMo to request their phone be locked. Users can also set their
phones to require a password each time before the DCMX service is
used.
The DCMX SITE showroom
will open in Tokyo at the end of May to present demonstrations and
information about the concept of mobile credit cards, and also accept
written applications to use the DCMX service.
DoCoMo also plans to offer
premium a DCMX GOLD mobile credit-card service in the future.