[Translation from Japanese to English ] He, who has watched over Japan's net for over 10 years, told us about a coupl...

Additional info

http://jp.startup-dating.com/2013/02/japanese-payment-agency-sees-next-business-in-o2o-and-long-tail-model

Original text

「決済ビジネスは新時代に入る」ーー国内ネット決済が次にみる夢は「O2O」と「ロングテール」

経済産業省が公表している平成19年商業統計（※1）をみると、小売業における年間の商品販売額は約134兆円で、平成23年度時点の電子商取引（EC）の市場規模とされる8.5兆円（※2）と比べると、まだまだその差は大きい。一方で、小売業の年間販売額がほぼ横ばい状態の中、毎年5〜8%という成長を続けるなど、その伸び率ではECに軍配が上がる。

Translation / English

'Payment business' will enter a new era - The next dream of domestic online payment business is 'O2O' and the 'long tail'

When you look at commercial statistics in 2007 published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry （※1）, annual sales amount in retail sector was around 134 trillion yen and the difference is still large, compare to 9.5 trillion yen（※2）, a estimated e-commerce（EC） market size in 2011. While annual sales amount in retail sector is broadly flat, e-commerce win the title as for the rate of increase, continuing its annual groth from 5 to 8 %.

3_yumie7- over 11 years ago
continuing its annual groth⇒continuing its annual growth

Translation / English

"Payment Industry Enters a New Era" -- "O2O" and "Long tail": the next dreams of domestic net-based payment industry

According to FY2007 Commercial Statistics Report (※1) published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the total retail sales of the year reached 134 trillion yen, but the e-commerce (EC) market size of 8.5 trillion yen (※2) in 2011 still represents a rather small fraction. On the other hand, while the total sales of the retail industry stays almost unchanged, EC outnumbers in its rate of growth at 5-8% annually.

Original text

そしてこのECの成長と共に伸びてきたのがネット決済の世界だ。国内でも1990年代後半に専業の事業者が出現し、いかにして個人情報をセキュアに扱うかや、加盟店の利便性や手数料などを差別化ポイントに、ここ10年で多くの事業者がしのぎを削ってきた。そして今、米Squareなどの出現による新しい決済の流れがこのアジアにも現れようとしている。

Translation / English

And it was the industry of online payment which grew along with the growth of e-commercial business. And at home, business operators specialized in e-commerce appeared in the late 1990s. Many of them have engaged in fierce competition over the last 10 years trying to differentiate their services from others in the protection of personal information, the convenience of affiliated stores and charge for service as well. Now, a new flow of payment business is appearing in Asia through the emergence of new startups like Square in the United States.

Translation / English

And the industry that grew together with EC is the online payment business. In Japan, a specialized business appeared late 1990s and many business operators have competed since in the past 10 years by differentiating themselves in things such as secure handling of personal information, convenience for the member merchants, and fees . And now, the new trend in the payment industry driven by companies like Square from the U.S. is about to become visible here in Asia.

Original text

私は国内の電子決済がどのように成長し、そしてこれからこの分野がどこに向かうのかを知りたくなり、ある一人の人物を尋ねた。ゼウスの代表取締役、地引一由氏だ。

日本のネット決済黎明期

決済代行サービスを提供するゼウスの創業は1999年。CCSペイメント・ワン（現GMOペイメントゲートウェイ）やサイバーキャッシュ（現ベリトランス）といったプレイヤー達としのぎを削り、日本のインターネット黎明期の決済を支えた。

Translation / English

As I wanted to know how domestic online payment business grows and to which direction this sector will go, I visited a man, Kazuyoshi Jibiki, the CEO of Zeus.

Dawn of Japanese online payment

Zeus, founded in 1999, is a service which provides payment representative service. It engaged in fierce competition against CCS payment one((actual GMO or Cyber Cash(actual

Translation / English

To learn about how the domestic online payment has grown and where it is going, I visited Kazuyoshi Jibiki, the CEO of Zeus.

Dawn of Online Payment in Japan

The online payment service provider Zeus was established in 1999. It competed against players such as CSS Payment One (currently GMO Payment Gateway) and Cybercash (currently Veritrans) and supported online payments during the dawn of the Internet in Japan.

Original text

「創業当時はいわゆるネットの黎明期。ネット決済がそもそもないのでそれなりの契約は取れる状況。一方で現在は要望も多く、細かくなっている。単純にサービス提供するだけでなく、ネット販売におけるノウハウなどをあわせて伝えるコンシェルジュのような立ち位置での仕事が求められる」と国内の決済代行サービスを振り返る。

Translation / English

Looking back at the domestic payment representative service, he said, " When I started my business, it was in the earliest days of Web service. As there were few online payment service in the first place, I could manage to get contracts. However, given the increasing demands of clients in number and in quality at the present day, it is expected that we should provide not only a simple service, but also a point of view like a concierge who provides his expertise in online sales."

Translation / English

"It was so-called the dawn of the Internet when we first started. We could sign a decent number of contracts because there wasn't any online payment available. On the other hand, today's clients have many, specific demands. You are required to work like a concierge who not only provides service but also online business know-how.", Jibiki reflected on the domestic payment service.

Original text

決済代行という立場上、彼らは加盟店の決済状況から好調なサイトがどのような傾向なのか把握することができる。地引氏は売れているサイトにアフィリエイターとして登録してその比較をしてみたり、様々なノウハウを整理して加盟店に伝えたりした。こういう地味な努力の積み重ねで差別化や継続率の向上を目指したという。

Translation / English

As a payment agency, they have a good grasp of what kind of trends exist among the successful sites by looking at the payment data of their member stores. Jibiki compared the sites that were doing well by signing up as an affiliate, and organized various know-hows which he passed onto his member stores. He tried to differentiate his company from others and increase the renewal rate by accumulating these small and steady efforts.

Original text

このようにして日本のネットを10年以上見続けた彼が今、この決済業界で起こっている二つの新たなビジネスチャンスについて教えてくれた。

これからやってくる2つの大きな波

まずひとつ目は北米Squareが巻き起こしたモバイル端末による「より敷居の低い」決済方法の登場だ。露天やタクシーなど、これまで以上に小さな事業者にまで決済インフラを一気に拡大させ、「加盟店のロングテール化」という劇的な変化を世界的に巻き起こしている。

Translation / English

He, who has watched over Japan's net for over 10 years, told us about a couple of new business opportunities in the payment industry.

2 upcoming large waves

The first one is the emergence of the "lower threshold" payment method as sen in the sensation caused by North America's Square using mobile devices. Payment infrastructure has been extended to small businesses such as open-air stands and taxis, revolutionizing the payment industry world-wide by creating the long tail of affiliates.

Translation / English

Today, after watching the Internet scenes in Japan for over 10 years, he talked about two new business opportunities in the payment industry.

Two Big Waves Still to Come

The first is the emergence of the payment methods with "a lower bar" using mobile terminals triggered by the North American company Square. It exploded the payment infrastructure to even smaller merchants than before, from street markets to taxis, and is stirring up the dramatic change of "long tailing of the affiliated stores" worldwide.

Original text

もうひとつが「O2O」だ。クラウドサービスの進化と導入コストの低下で、オンラインとオフライン店舗の決済と在庫や顧客管理の一元管理がさらに進み、Apple Storeのように店舗のショールーム化、決済はオンラインに統合されるという変化が起こりつつある。「オン・オフ店舗の在庫と決済の一元効率化」の結果が消費者や売上に還元されることになる。

ロングテールとO2O。地引氏が特に注目しているのが「O2O」なのだという。

Translation / English

The other wave is "O2O". Due to the evolution of the cloud-based services and the lowering implementation cost, centralized management of payments and stocks in both online and offline stores is becoming more popular. That has resulted in some ongoing changes such as the increased role of brick and mortar stores as show rooms like the Apple Store, and integration of all payments to online. The results of "centralized efficiency optimization of the stocks and payments in online and offline stores" will come back to the consumers and sales.

Between long tail and O2O, Jibiki is especially interested in O2O.

Original text

決済屋がみる「O2O」とは

モールやオークション、自社ECとオンライン・チャネルが増え続けるなか、2005年頃に出てきたオンラインショップ管理ツールはひとつの出来事だったのだという。これによって出品管理が簡単になり、さらにEC市場への商品数や接触機会が増加していったからだ。そして地引氏はこの流れがオフラインへとやってくるという。

Translation / English

"O2O" in the Eye of Payment Agency

With the online channels increasing with the malls, auctions, and its own EC, the online shop management tool that came out around 2005 was something of an event. It simplified sales management and further increased the number of online products and contact opportunities. And Jibiki believes that this trend will be coming offline.

Original text

「商品管理がさらに効率化され、店舗であろうとオンラインであろうと在庫が適切に管理され、売れる場所で売れるようになる。ポイントってどこでも発行してるじゃないですか。あれ、オンラインとリアル店舗で別々だったりするんです。これも共通化されればさらにチャンスが広がる」。

Translation / English

"Product management will be even more efficient. The stocks will be managed appropriately whether they are in real or online stores, and they will be sold where they will be sold the most. You know the store points that everyone issues? Sometimes they issue different points for the online and real stores. There will be more opportunities if these points can be merged."

Original text

このオンとオフの一元管理こそが決済屋の考えるO2Oなのだという。リアル店舗にはオンラインでもたらされる顧客や在庫、マーケティング情報が届き、リアル店舗では過剰な在庫を抱えることなく「ショールーム」としての役割を明確にすることができる。

Translation / English

This centralized management of online and offline is the idea of O2O by the payment agencies. The real stores will receive information on the clients, stock, and marketing from online activities, and the real stores can clearly define their role as "showrooms" without being burdened by excess stocks.