Japan's e-commerce market has grown to roughly 20 trillion yen a year, but which payment wallet consumers choose depends heavily on which ecosystem they belong to. MerPay is a payment service built into Mercari, Japan's largest secondhand marketplace platform, and what sets it clearly apart from other QR payment services is that users can spend the proceeds from selling secondhand items directly on online and offline purchases without withdrawing them first. In a Japan where the cashless ratio has reached about 40%, it has created its own distinct demand for turning "sales proceeds sitting in the wallet" into spending.

Mercari's user base skews toward people in their 20s to 40s who are comfortable trading hobby, fashion, and subculture goods. Merchants in Korea selling products that overlap with these interests in Japan — character goods, idol-related merchandise, secondhand luxury items and clothing — should consider adding MerPay as a payment option to tap into the impulse to spend that sales-proceeds balance.

Consumers pay in yen using their MerPay balance (sales proceeds or top-up funds) in the Mercari app, or a registered account. At an online merchant, the shopper selects MerPay at checkout and approves the payment through app authentication. Hecto Financial receives the payment in JPY, converts the currency, and pays the merchant in Korea in the contracted currency — USD, KRW, or JPY. Check the technical documentation for the specific integration method.

Merchants in Korea can consider MerPay integration through Hecto Financial without negotiating separately with Mercari. The actual scope of support and terms (fees, settlement cycle, currency selection) are determined by the merchant review outcome, so prior consultation is recommended.

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for businesses registered in Korea

• Sales channel

  The integration approach differs depending on whether sales are online only or also include offline stores in Japan

• Product categories handled

  Check in advance whether your products fall under categories restricted by the MerPay operator's merchant policies

• Compliance with local regulations

  Confirm compliance with Japan's payment and foreign exchange regulations (see official sources below)

Amounts paid by Japanese consumers via MerPay are first received by Hecto Financial in the local currency, JPY. Settlement to the merchant in Korea is made, after currency conversion, in a single currency chosen under contract — USD, KRW, or JPY — with the cycle and fee rate following the contract terms. For refunds, both MerPay's policy and Hecto Financial's operating standards apply at the same time, so it's safer to confirm the processing timeline in advance.

• Bank of JapanProvides official information on Japan's payments and payment systems.
• Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) cashless policyOfficial data on the Japanese government's payment policy, including the cashless payment ratio. If the content of this page differs from actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.