Sumitomo Mitsui Card announces cashless campaign for SMEs

Sumitomo Mitsui Card has been continuously working to promote and expand cashless payments as a social infrastructure, not only for large-scale businesses but also for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In July 2020, Sumitomo Mitsui Card set an upper limit (3.25%) for merchant fees for small and medium-sized businesses and implemented a cycle of six bank transfers per month for early remittance of sales proceeds, thereby further strengthening its efforts to promote cashless payments for small and medium-sized businesses in the new lifestyle and era.

In April 2021, Sumitomo Mitsui Card started accepting applications for the “stera pack” subscription service, which provides an all-in-one terminal (“stera terminal”), affordable merchant fees, and an application to improve store operations efficiency as a package. The terminal usage fee was set at 3,000 yen/month, and the merchant fee was revised to 2.70%~.

Now, with the aim of further promoting and expanding cashless payments centered on the “stera pack,” Sumitomo Mitsui Card has significantly revised the merchant fees for small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, Sumitomo Mitsui Card will implement a terminal distribution strategy to promote cashless payments in Osaka Prefecture.

Details

• From May 8, 2024 (Wednesday) to November 30, 2024 (Saturday), Sumitomo Mitsui Card will start offering the new solution “stera tap” for small and medium-sized businesses with an effective merchant fee of 1.98% through a cashback campaign.
• From December 1, 2024 (Sunday), Sumitomo Mitsui Card will start offering the new solution “stera tap” for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as the “stera pack,” with a merchant fee of 1.98%
• From May 8, 2024 (Wednesday) to November 30, 2024 (Saturday), Sumitomo Mitsui Card will provide Android devices that can use “stera tap” free of charge to small and medium-sized businesses in Osaka Prefecture that have not yet introduced credit card payments.

In this campaign, a merchant fee of 2.70% on Visa and Mastercard sales will be charged, and 0.72% of the respective sales will be cashbacked at a later date. The cashback is capped at 100,000 yen in total during the campaign period. If the 0.72% cashback amount exceeds 100,000 yen, the effective merchant fee will not be 1.98%.

Background and History

With the vision of becoming a “digital” and “innovation” company chosen by customers to support their payments in all scenarios, Sumitomo Mitsui Card has been considering cashless adoption strategies for all types of industries and business formats to contribute to a sound cashless society as a social infrastructure.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of credit card payments has been steadily expanding in Japan, but the adoption rate among small and medium-sized businesses is said to be around 60%. Traditionally, the process of registering a merchant agreement for credit card payments and setting up payment terminals has been complicated and time-consuming. Additionally, the cost of installing and purchasing terminals has been a few tens of thousands of yen per unit, which has been a challenge for widespread adoption. Another issue hindering the proliferation of credit card payments at stores operated by small and medium-sized businesses and sole proprietors has been the “merchant fees charged by card companies.”

To address these challenges, Sumitomo Mitsui Card launched the innovative “stera tap” solution on March 25, 2024, which allows users to utilize their own Android smartphones as touch payment terminals without purchasing or leasing traditional payment terminals. By installing a dedicated app on their smartphones, users can leverage the built-in NFC antenna as a contactless IC reader through the Tap to Phone feature, enabling them to use their smartphones as touch payment terminals. Additionally, Sumitomo Mitsui Card has been offering industry-leading merchant fees of 2.70%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Card believes that to contribute to a sound cashless society as a social infrastructure, a cashless environment must be available anytime, anywhere, regardless of business scale, industry, or format.

In this regard, Sumitomo Mitsui Card has decided to revise the “merchant fee to 1.98%” as a support measure for small and medium-sized businesses, addressing one of the challenges in promoting cashless payments — the “merchant fees charged by card companies.”

Additionally, the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka and Kansai (hereinafter referred to as the “Osaka/Kansai Expo”) scheduled to start on April 13, 2025, will be completely cashless within the venue. Both domestic and inbound visitors from overseas will only be able to use cashless payment methods such as credit cards.

In conjunction with the upcoming “Osaka/Kansai Expo,” Sumitomo Mitsui Card has decided to implement a support program for introducing “stera tap” to small and medium-sized restaurants and retailers in Osaka Prefecture. This is aimed at strengthening the inbound readiness in Osaka Prefecture and further promoting a cashless environment throughout the prefecture. Sumitomo Mitsui Card hopes this will help resolve another challenge in the widespread adoption of cashless payments — the “cost of purchasing terminals.”

Furthermore, the “stera terminal” has been adopted as the cashless payment method within the venue of the “Osaka/Kansai Expo.” SMBC Group will work together to support the cashless aspects of the Expo.

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