The two companies have agreed to launch the world's first full-scale project for the practical application and commercialization of UWB payments. In 2026, JCB will work with multiple technology partners and collaborating merchants to demonstrate payment technology and value-added solutions for merchants, as well as user experience building projects to create new purchasing experiences. On top of that, JCB aims to launch small-scale commercial operations in 2027 and full-scale commercialization in earnest in 2028.

The two companies are participating in the FiRa® Consortium, which standardizes and contributes to the development of UWB communication technology, as well as builds new payment experiences and value-added solutions for stores using UWB technology.

About the UWB Payment Project

Through the activities of the FiRa Consortium, JCB, and Resona will standardize technologies and experiences for payment applications, and with the support of FiRa Consortium’s participating vendors, conduct technology tests. From 2026, the two companies will demonstrate UWB payments and value-added solutions together with multiple partner merchants and provide feedback to FiRa on the necessary technology development.

In parallel, JCB and Resona will conduct research on user experience and store payment operations to confirm the acceptability of users and merchants.

Moreover, in order to reduce the introduction load at merchants as much as possible, the project aims to build a payment infrastructure that can widely accept payment solutions using UWB provided by competitors. The project is aimed to launch on a small scale in 2027 and commercialize on a full-scale in 2028.

In addition, the two companies will aim to realize new UWB payments through collaboration with a wide range of partners in Japan and other countries.

The Background of This Project

UWB communication technology is a short-range wireless communication technology that has the characteristics of (1) accurate location of devices and (2) high-speed data communication and is being used in Japan and overseas for location verification of digital keys for cars and homes, indoor navigation, and tags.

The technology is also used overseas in gateless public transportation systems. In the future, it is expected to be used for payments, as with NFC (Near Field Communication) and QR codes.

Outside Japan, the spread of smartphones with UWB functions has been slow, but in Japan, smartphones that can use UWB communication are widely available, and can be utilized in advance of the rest of the world. Moreover, the diversification of cashless payments and the wide range of value-added solutions for users and stores are also characteristics of Japan's payment scene. The project believes that it is necessary to take advantage of this location and create new payment solutions to solve problems for users and stores and meet the needs of new solutions.

Press release: https://acnnewswire.com/press-release/english/105227/