Japan’s premier mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo, is looking to credit card and payment services to gain competitive edge in a cut-throat market in which its rivals are following suit. Several DoCoMo handsets have carried contactless prepaid wallets since last year and now support credit card applications. Third parties can use this payments platform, but this strategy may not work in that last October Japan’s main credit card issuer JCB joined with two competing carriers, KDDI and Vodafone, in an alliance that includes several other credit card companies.

[...] To make credit card payments with their mobile phones, DoCoMo subscribers will simply wave their handset in front of a retail POS reader. Signatures are to be waived for purchases under a certain amount, while totals above a certain threshold will require a password to be keyed in at the POS.