[Japan] LINE Announces Largest Reward Campaign to Date, "Welcome Reiwa: 30 Billion Yen Giveaway"

2019.05.16 LINE App

● Ten-day campaign will run from May 20 – 29 to celebrate advent of the cashless era

● Users can tap into a pool of JPY 30 billion to send "LINE Pay Bonuses" to LINE friends

 

TOKYO – May 16, 2019 – Under the LINE Pay digital wallet service for smartphones (http://line.me/pay), LINE Corporation ("LINE") and LINE Pay Corporation ("LINE Pay") will run the ten-day Welcome Reiwa: 30 Billion Yen Giveaway campaign from May 20 – 29, 2019.

 

 Welcome Reiwa: 30 Billion Yen Giveaway official website: https://linepay.line.me/campaign/30bill.html (Japanese) 

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Last month, Japan bade farewell to the Heisei era and welcomed the new Reiwa era. The Heisei era saw the emergence of several quick and easy payment methods more suited to consumers' daily lifestyles. Among these were credit cards—first introduced into Japan in the Showa era but only becoming commonplace and a facilitator for large payments during the Heisei era—and contactless payments driven by Japanese technologies (such as electronic money services for transport fares, and Osaifu-Keitai). As such, the Heisei era could be characterized as a period where electronic payments became a part of day-to-day life, and payment options began to flourish. With the impending tax increase in October this year, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and the upcoming World Expo, LINE views Reiwa as the era in which electronic payments will finally cement itself as the leading payment method.

 

To celebrate the start of the Reiwa era, LINE and LINE Pay will run the Welcome Reiwa: 30 Billion Yen Giveaway over ten days from May 20 to May 29. Users can tap into the campaign’s pool of JPY 30 billion to send LINE Pay Bonuses to their LINE friends and chat groups—much like sending money over LINE Pay—with each user able to receive a Bonus of JPY 1,000. The JPY 30 billion pool will make it the largest-ever campaign offered by the LINE Group to date, while also giving users the opportunity to communicate with close friends and reconnect with old ones as the new Reiwa era gets underway. The campaign will conclude once the amount of sent Bonuses reaches a total of JPY 30 billion.

 

Each user can claim a one-time LINE Pay Bonus of JPY 1,000 during the campaign. To receive the Bonus, users must open a LINE Pay account and have their identity verified within the campaign period. Users who have already completed identity verification will be able to receive their Bonus immediately, while those who have yet to complete the process can choose from three methods: (1) by registering their bank account, (2) by using LINE Pay eKYC (an online identity verification service), or (3) by post.

 

More details can be found on the LINE Pay official blog: http://pay-blog.line.me/archives/16994522.html(Japanese)

*Osaifu-Keitai is a registered trademark of NTT DOCOMO Inc.

 

About LINE Pay Bonus

LINE Pay Bonus is a type of point offered by LINE, and can be used in the same way as LINE Pay to send funds to LINE friends or to make in-store and online purchases. 

 

Important

・The LINE Pay Bonus cannot be deposited into a bank account or withdrawn from an ATM.

・The LINE Pay Bonus will be added to a user’s existing LINE Pay balance. The Bonus will be used first when users make a payment. On the other hand, although the money transfer screen will show the Bonus and LINE Pay balance as separate amounts, sending money will draw from the user’s remaining LINE Pay balance first.

・The LINE Pay Bonus cannot be used when making purchases with LINE Pay Card or QUICPay+.

・The LINE Pay Bonus is valid for two years.

 

By emulating the money transfer experience, this latest campaign aims to spur on mobile money transfers: one of the LINE Pay service's two key functions (the other being mobile payments). While traditional money transfers went through banks, LINE Pay allows users to send funds free of charge between mobile devices. Since the LINE Pay Bonus will be added to a user's LINE Pay account once claimed, it is anticipated that this campaign will further drive mobile payments—generating a cashless environment in a way that only LINE can.

 

 About the Welcome Reiwa: 30 Billion Yen Giveaway campaign

Campaign period: Ten-day period from 11:00 am on May 20 – 11:59 pm on May 29, 2019 (GMT+9)

Details: During the campaign period, users can tap into the campaign’s pool of JPY 30 billion (users do not shoulder any costs) and send LINE Pay Bonuses equivalent to JPY 1,000 to their LINE friends. Those who receive the Bonus can claim their JPY 1,000 by completing LINE Pay registration and identity verification by the end of June 2019. Funds can be used immediately after being added to a user’s LINE Pay account. Users who have already completed identity verification will be able to receive their Bonus right away.

Incentive: LINE Pay Bonus worth JPY 1,000

 

Important

・The campaign will end once a total of JPY 30 billion in LINE Pay Bonuses has been sent.

・While users can send LINE Pay Bonuses to LINE friends and chat groups, each user may only receive JPY 1,000 once from friends during the campaign period.

・Users who have not completed LINE Pay registration and the identity verification process by 11:59 pm (GMT+9) on June 30, 2019 will be unable to collect their LINE Pay Bonus.

 

Explainer videos on the campaign

30 Billion Yen Giveaway – Share with Friends: https://youtu.be/BjP4Ho9UgP8

Mio Imada Links Her Bank Account: https://youtu.be/w8qh_tPtP2k

Mio Imada Verifies Her Identity: https://youtu.be/6YEUePhng68 

 

Free LINE characters sticker set up for grabs

All users who participate in the Welcome Reiwa: 30 Billion Yen Giveaway can download a free set of LINE character stickers after sending a LINE Pay Bonus of JPY 1,000 to a LINE friend. Injecting the distinctive LINE playfulness into conversations, the set will feature eight images incorporating the campaign's key visuals and the announcement of the Reiwa era. 

 

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Under its corporate mission of “Closing the Distance," LINE heads into the Reiwa era with an ongoing dedication to creating a world that seamlessly connects people with both each other and all the things around them at the ideal distance, anywhere, anytime. With the LINE Pay service, it will strive to make communicating with money as smooth as possible between users and their families, friends, and partners in the coming cashless era.