Note: This article covers d Payment, a mobile payment service available only to merchants and customers in Japan. The information below will not be relevant if you are not selling in the Japanese market.
When running a Shopify store, which payment methods you offer has a major impact on sales and customer satisfaction. This article focuses on d Payment, a mobile payment service offered by NTT Docomo, and explains its benefits, drawbacks, and how to set it up in detail. Adding d Payment can help you promote sales to Docomo users and reduce cart abandonment, though it also comes with some cost-related challenges.
Use this article as a reference to decide whether d Payment is a good fit for your Shopify store.
What Is d Payment?
d Payment is a mobile payment service offered by NTT Docomo. Customers can pay using a barcode or QR code displayed on their smartphone, and it works both for in-store shopping and online shopping. It also lets users earn d Points.
Benefits of Adding d Payment to Shopify
No credit card information needed
d Payment lets customers pay as long as they have their Docomo account information. With credit card payments, customers have to enter their card number, expiration date, security code, and so on — with d Payment, none of that data entry is needed.
Customers can earn and use d Points
By offering d Payment as a payment method at checkout, customers can earn and redeem d Points. This can also be a reason for Docomo users who regularly use d Points to choose your Shopify store.
The blog article below introduces the benefits of adding a points system to Shopify along with recommended points apps. Please use it as a reference.
Helps reduce cart abandonment
The majority of cart abandonment stems from the reason "the payment method I want isn't available." Adding d Payment is worth considering to help prevent cart abandonment among customers who don't own — or prefer not to use — a credit card.
According to publicly available information from NTT Docomo, Inc., d Payment has surpassed 51.99 million users (as of the end of March 2023), growing into a payment service used by roughly 1 in every 2.5 people in Japan.
Reference: d Payment Surpasses 50 Million Users in 5 Years | NTT Docomo, Inc.
According to a Baymard Institute survey, the 4th most common reason for cart abandonment is "didn't want to enter credit card information," and the 10th most common is "not enough payment options."
Many Docomo users likely think, "I want to pay with d Payment so I don't have to enter my credit card information," or "I want to use d Payment so I can earn d Points."
For this reason, we believe adding d Payment can help reduce cart abandonment among Docomo users.
The article below introduces other reasons for cart abandonment as well as countermeasures beyond simply adding more payment options. Please use it as a reference.
Drawbacks of Adding d Payment to Shopify
It comes with a cost
The main drawback of using d Payment is that it comes with additional costs.
Using d Payment may add setup fees, monthly fees, and payment processing fees. Because d Payment is a payment method outside Shopify Payments, it also incurs a transaction fee.
High fees eat into your store's profit margin, so if you want to keep costs down, choose a provider with lower fees.
【Reference article】
The article below explains in detail the benefits of using Shopify Payments and its payment fees. Please use it as a reference.
What is a transaction fee?
A transaction fee is a fee charged when you receive payment from a customer.
Transaction fees are waived when using Shopify Payments, but the following fees apply when using an external payment provider.
| Pricing Plan | Starter | Basic | Standard | Premium | Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction Fee | 5.00% | 2.00% | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.15% |
If you use Shopify Payments, you only pay the payment fee, but if you use another provider, you'll pay both a payment fee and a transaction fee.
※ Even if you're signed up for Shopify Payments, a transaction fee applies when you use an external payment service that isn't supported by Shopify Payments.
The article below thoroughly compares Shopify plans across various criteria besides transaction fees, such as monthly cost and staff account limits. Please use it as a reference.
How to Add d Payment to Shopify
To add d Payment to Shopify, you need to sign a contract with one of the following payment providers.
KOMOJU
KOMOJU is known for having no setup fee or monthly fee, and for its fast screening process.
The blog article below introduces KOMOJU in detail. Please use it as a reference.
d Payment Fees
| Setup Fee | Monthly Fee | Payment Fee |
|---|---|---|
| ¥0 | ¥0 | Physical goods 3.5% Digital content 15% |
Reference: d Payment | KOMOJU
SB Payment Service
SB Payment Service is a payment processing service operated by SB Payment Service Corp., part of the SoftBank Group. In addition to supporting a wide range of payment methods, it's known for its marketing support to boost sales and its robust security setup.
The blog article below explains SB Payment Service in detail. Please use it as a reference.
d Payment Fees
※ Please contact them for details
Reference: Industry-leading 3.10% fee — Add payments to Shopify with SB Payment Service
A Shopify App That Can Automatically Hide d Payment
After adding d Payment, you may run into situations where you want to hide it — for example, "digital products have high fees, so I want to hide d Payment for those," or "I want to hide d Payment when a preferred delivery date is set."
This section introduces a Shopify app that can hide d Payment under any condition.
RuffRuff Order Limits
RuffRuff Order Limits is fully localized for Japanese and is Japan's first Shopify app built on the Cart and Checkout Validation API.
By using the Cart and Checkout Validation API, it handles order-restriction logic on the server side — processing that previously could only be done on the front end. As a result, it achieves more robust order restrictions that are harder to bypass compared to existing order-limit apps.
With a single app, you can apply quantity limits, amount limits, bundling restrictions, customer restrictions, and payment method hiding.
Using this app, you can achieve things such as:
・Hide d Payment when the cart subtotal reaches ¥3,000 or more
・Hide d Payment when the cart contains digital products
・Hide d Payment for guest customers only
Summary
In this article, we covered the benefits, drawbacks, and setup steps for adding d Payment to your Shopify store.
Shopify also supports a variety of other payment methods. The blog article below introduces other payment methods you can add to Shopify besides d Payment. If you're considering adding a new payment method, please use it as a reference.
