INTERVIEW: Lawson Bank Eyes Cutting Retailers’ Cashless Settlement Fees

October 5, 2018

Tokyo- Lawson Bank plans to introduce by March 2020 a cashless settlement system that will allow retailers to substantially cut commission fee payments to credit card firms, Masashi Yamashita, president of the bank, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.

The unit of convenience store chain Lawson Inc. will kick off its banking services, such as deposit taking and credit card issuance, through more than 13,000 automated teller machines installed at Lawson stores nationwide on Oct. 15.

Lawson Bank is the first entrant in the Japanese banking sector in seven years since Daiwa Next Bank, a wholly owned unit of Daiwa Securities Group Inc..

Referring to the existing cashless settlement system, Yamashita said, "Commission fees that retailers pay to credit card companies are getting larger."

Yamashita expressed his readiness to establish a new system that does not involve credit card companies by utilizing Lawson's ATM network, which is directly connected with financial institutions across Japan.

"I want to halve those commission fees," Yamashita said.

Lawson Bank also aims to improve convenience of ATMs users. Specific plans include providing information on special offers at local shops and partner financial institutions and offering coupons for Lawson store items.

"We'll make ATMs a place to communicate with customers," Yamashita said.

The bank is also considering allowing regional banks to use space in Lawson outlets as field offices and setting up more ATMs outside stores in collaboration with those banks. Jiji Press