Subscriptions to DoCoMo's Credit Payment Service Top 10 Million

­Japan's NTT DoCoMo has announced that the number of subscribers to its credit payment service, DCMX has now topped 10 million users. DCMX is a service brand for DoCoMo-issued credit cards, which allows subscribers to make purchases using their mobile phones as credit cards via iD, DoCoMo's branded mobile payment platform for handsets equipped with contactless IC cards (Osaifu-Keitai). For security, DoCoMo's Osaifu-Keitai phones can be locked remotely over the wireless network if misplaced or stolen.

Launched in April 2006, DCMX reached 1 million subscribers in November 2006, 5 million in February 2008 and 10 million, just three years and four months since the original launch.

The rapid penetration of DCMX was helped by the popularization of Osaifu-Keitai and iD reader/writer terminals as well as its customer loyalty program. Currently, over 30 million DoCoMo customers use Osaifu-Keitai-compatible handsets and about 60% of all DoCoMo customers are using Osaifu-Keitai services. As of July 31, 2009, there were approximately 420,000 iD readers/writers nationwide. iD is now used in various settings in daily life, such as shopping at convenience stores and electronics retailers, eating at fast food restaurants and taking taxis.

There are three plans offered under the DCMX brand: "DCMX mini" with which payments within a monthly credit line of 10,000 yen (approximately US$105) will be billed together with the user's monthly DoCoMo phone charges, the standard "DCMX" plan and the premium "DCMX GOLD" plan.

Subscribers of the standard DCMX and DCMX GOLD plans can earn DoCoMo's loyalty points (DoCoMo points) each time they make a purchase transaction. They can use these points for DoCoMo product discounts and other customer rewards. In addition, there are bonus point programs at selected retailers or DoCoMo's online shopping mall.

Posted to the site on 25th August 2009