On Track Innovations, Billing System Corporation Demonstrate NFC-Based Cashless Payment Solutions

On Track Innovations Ltd.

and its strategic partner, Billing System Corporation (TSE: 3623), a leading payment service provider, demonstrated prototypes of their jointly developed NFC-based cashless payments solutions for the Japanese market at the RETAILTECH JAPAN trade show which took place March 8-11 in Tokyo, Japan. Billing System selected oti as its exclusive NFC solution provider in June 2015. The companies are actively developing and certifying Felica-compatible NFC-based cashless payment readers and devices for the Japanese unattended market. Nearly 20 million foreign travelers visit Japan annually, which is expected to increase in the coming years with the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. However, Japan's current cashless payment settlement infrastructure, Felica, is unique to the domestic market and not compatible with international NFC services. The incompatibility has become a problem for foreign travelers as more consumers are transacting with credit cards utilizing NFC technology and mobile phone payment schemes like Apple Pay™ and Android Pay™. These settlement services are based on international standards and provide high security, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. "With more than 5.5 million vending machines nationwide, the Japanese market represents one of the largest opportunities globally for cashless payment solutions," said Toshihiko Eda, CEO of Billing System. "NFC has clearly emerged as the technology of choice for all the major payment schemes, and with no NFC infrastructure currently deployed in Japan, now is the perfect time to enter the market with our Felica-compatible and certified product offering." oti and Billing System are currently co-marketing prototype products to Japan's vending machine operators, manufacturers and ATM companies, and expect to introduce a full suite of products to the market by the third quarter of 2016. "The positive response to our new products at RETAILTECH JAPAN reaffirms our belief that Japan will be a major market for us in the years to come," said oti CEO Shlomi Cohen. "In fact, we are in advanced discussions with several leading Japanese companies who have expressed interest in adopting our technology. Based on this increasing interest and our expanding sales pipeline, we expect to secure at least one major new Japanese reader customer by year-end.