Two popular Japanese prepaid money cards will be gaining support for Apple Pay later this year, allowing the cards to be added to the Wallet app for contactless payments using an iPhone or Apple Watch where accepted, it was announced today.
The cards set to gain Apple Pay support include Seven & I's Nanaco card and AEON's WAON card, as noted by Ata Distance. The blog, which focuses on mobile payment and transit cards in Japan, believes it will likely become possible to add the cards to the Wallet app shortly after the public release of iOS 15, which is expected in September.
As part of its Apple Pay announcement, Seven & I said it has issued around 74 million Nanaco cards that are accepted at around 800,000 retail locations in Japan, including 7-Eleven and Ito-Yokado stores. Likewise, AEON said it has issued over 87 million WAON cards that are accepted at more than 840,000 retail locations across the island country.
Apple Pay continues to expand to more issuers around the world, including ING in Belgium and FNB in South Africa earlier this month.
Several major U.S. cities support the Apple Pay for transit feature that Apple has rolled out, providing a simple way for those who use public transportation to pay for rides.
Apple Pay for transit works in Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
Some of these cities have supported Apple...
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:21 am PDT by Juli Clover
Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday, May 10, and for those who want to order flowers, Apple has a $20 discount available.
Apple Pay users in the U.S. can get $20 off a purchase from 1-800-Flowers when spending $49.99 or more on a Mother's Day flower bouquet and other select merchandise. The discount is available through May 9 with the promo code APPLEPAY.
To get the deal, iPhone users...
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
"Nana" is one way to pronounce the word "seven," which refers to the "seven" in "Seven and I Holdings" (itself a combination of "7-Eleven" and the first letter in "Ito Yokado," which is part of the conglomerate).
The Waon card mascot is a dog, and "waon" is an onomatopoieia for a dog's bark, and the Waon NFC terminals make a barking sound when the transaction is successful.
Most Japanese e-payment cards have very clever names. Here's a page from a book I helped write that explains the meaning of Suica (mentioned elsewhere in this thread) as well as the Icoca card.
Nanaco and WAON cards appear to have very cute branding 😊
Very clever names, too.
How do these compare to Suica on apple pay? Suica is super easy to reload on your phone (can use apple pay credit card). But maybe these two are accepted in more places?
Each has its segment of the market. Nanaco will be good at 7-Eleven convenience stores and (more importantly to me) supermarkets under the Seven and I Holdings umbrella. Waon is accepted at other convenience store and supermarket chains.
Suica is widely accepted, and has the huge advantage of being able to be set as an express transit card. So, even when used for non-transit transactions (stores, restaurants, etc.), it's not necessary to double-click the iPhone or Apple watch. Just wave and go.
Most Japanese e-payment cards have very clever names. Here's a page from a book I helped write that explains the meaning of Suica (mentioned elsewhere in this thread) as well as the Icoca card.
Thank you! I was wondering why they called this card "watermelon"… 😊
