is Japanese electronic money

Electronic money

Electronic money is money or scrip that is only exchanged electronically. Typically, this involves the use of computer networks, the internet and digital stored value systems...

 system introduced by ÆON

ÆON

, commonly written AEON Co., Ltd., is the holding company of Æon Group. It has its headquarters in Mihama-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture.It operates JUSCO supermarkets directly in Japan.Æon is the largest retailer in Asia...

 from April 2007. It is a rechargeable contactless smart card

Smart card

A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...

. Like many other smart card systems in Japan, it uses RFID technology developed by Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 known as FeliCa

FeliCa

FeliCa is a contactless RFID smart card system from Sony in Japan, primarily used in electronic money cards. The name stands for Felicity Card...

. Its name comes from , meaning harmony. The card's official mascot is a white dog. The card reader makes a "waon" sound upon successful transaction, a Japanese onomatopoeia for dog barks.

Unlike the nanaco

Nanaco

nanaco is a prepaid and rechargeable contactless electronic money card used in 7 Eleven convenience stores in Japan.Supplied by IY Card Service Co., a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co., nanaco is available as nanaco card and nanaco mobile .The Nanaco format also features a postpay...

 card issued by Seven & I Holdings

Seven & I Holdings Co.

is a diversified retail group headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Founded originally in 1920 as Ito-Yokado, Seven & I is now the fifth largest retailer in the world, with 35,000 stores in approximately 100 countries.-History:...

, the basic Waon card can be purchased without any registrations. Like other FeliCa-based systems, Waon has a mobile payment

Mobile Payment

Mobile financial services, also referred to as mobile money, mobile payment, mobile banking, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet generally refer to payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device....

 system, known as Mobile Waon.

According to Nomura Research Institute, as of April 2008, there were approximately 4.2 million Waon users with around 25,000 participating stores.

Types of cards

• Waon Card: A basic prepaid card that does not require registration.
• Waon Card Plus: A card for ÆON Card holders. Accepts postpay as well.
• ÆON Card (Waon Card integrated): A credit card
  Credit card
  A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
  
  .

Waon Card is issued by ÆON, while other two cards are issued by AEON Credit Service

AEON Credit Service

is a financial service corporation under Æon Group in Japan. It is mainly involved in the issuance of credit cards and is currently one of the largest issuers and leading consumer credit providers in Japan....

.

Usable stores

As of September 2007

• 130 stores in Kantō region
  Kanto region
  The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
  
  , Yamanashi
  Yamanashi Prefecture
  is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Kōfu.-Pre-history to the 14th century:People have been living in the Yamanashi area for about 30,000 years...
  
  , and Niigata
  Niigata Prefecture
  is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
  
  
  • AEON Shopping Center
  • AEON Supercenter
  • AEON Tower Pharmacy
  • Carrefour
    Carrefour
    Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
    
    
  • Diamond City
    Diamond City (Shopping Centers)
    Diamond City is a chain of over 14 shopping centers located throughout the nation of Japan. Diamond City shopping centers are owned and operated by Diamond City Co,Ltd.Diamond City Co,Ltd. has been in operation since 1969.-Corporate Strategy:...
    
    
  • JUSCO
    JUSCO
    is the acronym for Japan United Stores Company, a chain of "general merchandise stores" and the largest of its type in Japan. The various JUSCO companies are subsidiaries of ÆON Co., Ltd.....
    
    
  • Karadalab
  • Kids Kyōwakoku
  • Marinpia
  • MaxValu
  • Mega Mart
  • Ministop
    Ministop
    , a member of ÆON Group, operates the Ministop convenience store franchise chain in Japan. Unlike most other convenience stores in Japan, Ministop stores feature a kitchen that prepares sandwiches, snacks and take out bento boxes on demand, and has a seating area where customers can sit down and...
    
    
  • My Basket
  • MYCAL (Saty and Vivre)

Within 2008

• 23,000 stores of AEON Group
  AEON Group
  is a group of retail and financial services companies based in Chiba, Japan, which is centered on Æon Co., Ltd. It has sister companies in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, and also trades under the JUSCO name. It claims to be Japan's largest retail group in terms of sales...
  
   in all Japan

In Kantō region, AEON Group stores already accept Suica

Suica

is a rechargeable contactless smart card used as a fare card on train lines in Japan. Launched in November 2001, the card is usable currently in the Kantō region, at JR East stations near Sendai and Niigata...

, iD, and PASMO

PASMO

is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport introduced in Tokyo, Japan, on March 18, 2007.Pasmo is a development of the system used by many non JR railway lines in the Tokyo region...

 as well. For other regions, they plan to accept other cards such as ICOCA

ICOCA

The card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on JR West rail network in Japan. The card was launched on November 1, 2003 for usage on the Urban Network, which encompasses the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe...

 or TOICA

TOICA

is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for JR Central railway network which was introduced in the Chūkyō Area of Japan on November 25, 2006.The name is an acronym for Tōkai IC Card...

.