Maximizing the au ecosystem, including payments, commerce, energy and financial services

「From July this year, Ponta Pass began offering monthly savings benefits on purchases at Lawson Ticket and HMV. When customers purchase eligible tickets through Lawson Ticket, an amount equivalent to the applicable fees, including system usage and in-store ticketing fees, of up to ¥495 per ticket per month including tax, is returned in Ponta points.」

「● au Smart Pass Premium was revamped as Ponta Pass in October this year. In addition to the former au Smart Pass Premium benefits, Ponta Pass added two services: Weekly LAWSON, offering free and discounted coupons worth more than ¥600 per month at Lawson, and Ponta Pass Boost, which increases the standard 0.5% Ponta points-back rate to as much as four times, or 2%, when paying with au PAY at Lawson.」

「au PAY Card membership continued to grow steadily, surpassing 9.44 million in March this year. At au Jibun Bank株式会社, we began offering an interest-rate discount service in September last year, under which mortgage rates are reduced when customers use the bank together with a partner service from JCOM株式会社, and from November last year with a partner service from Chubu Telecommunications Co., Inc. In March this year, cumulative mortgage loan originations surpassed ¥4 trillion, the fastest pace among internet-only banks.」

「In November last year, Ponta points began partnering with Tabelog, operated by Kakaku.com, Inc. Customers meeting the relevant conditions can now earn Ponta points when using Tabelog’s online reservation service.」

「As part of our au ecosystem initiatives, we opened au Pharmacy, an online-only pharmacy, in July this year.」

「● In points and payments, we offer au and UQ mobile customers benefits under Tanuki Lucky Days, with au PAY points-back rates of up to 5% at participating merchants on the 5th, 15th, 25th and 8th of each month.」

「In the financial business, au PAY Card membership reached 8 million in August last year, and the number of deposit accounts at au Jibun Bank reached 5 million in December last year.」

「From December last year, under the Tanuki Lucky Days program, we began offering au and UQ mobile customers points-back rates of up to 5% at participating merchants on the 5th, 15th, 25th and 8th of each month.」

「In points and payments, we began offering the au Ponta Portal in July this year, allowing users to easily check their accumulated points, expiration dates and places where points can be used. The point program was renamed the au Ponta Point Program. From August, we also launched the Tanuki Lucky Draw, under which customers paying at least ¥200 including tax with au PAY code payments on the 5th, 15th, 25th and Ponta Day on the 8th of each month are guaranteed to receive Ponta points, making the points experience more accessible and creating new customer value.」

「With menu株式会社, with which we began a capital and business alliance in June last year, we launched a service in June this year offering free menu delivery to au Smart Pass Premium members regardless of order value or frequency. We further strengthened cooperation by adding au PAY balances as a payment destination for menu delivery workers’ compensation.」

「In the life-design area, from December last year customers became able to top up their au PAY balance from accounts at all 118 financial institutions, including MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, through the au PAY mobile payment service.」

「Through various initiatives in the financial business, deposits at au Jibun Bank exceeded ¥2 trillion as of the end of August, and au PAY Card active membership surpassed 7 million in September. In the energy business, the number of contracts for KDDI electricity services, including au Electricity and UQ Electricity, exceeded 3 million in August this year.」

「In the life-design area, we provide services such as finance, energy and commerce starting from customer touchpoints including au PAY and au Smart Pass, and aim to expand the au ecosystem further by strengthening customer touchpoints and circulating points.」

「As a result, payment and financial transaction value in fiscal 2020 substantially exceeded the initial target, rising from ¥6.5 trillion in fiscal 2019 to ¥9.0 trillion.」

「In November last year, we announced a major enhancement to au PAY Gold Card benefits, including up to 17% rewards on purchases through au PAY Market from February this year, up to 11% on au electricity usage, and 11% on mobile and fixed-line communications charges for customers with an au mobile contract and their family members holding supplementary cards.」

「To further expand the au ecosystem, we ran ongoing enhanced points-back campaigns for au PAY and Ponta points at Lawson, as well as with industries such as drugstores and supermarkets and major companies such as Uniqlo. In July this year, au PAY and the au PAY Card were registered as cashless payment services eligible for the My Number Point program, and we pursued user acquisition through campaigns and television commercials.」

「On 21 May this year, au WALLET points were integrated with Ponta points, creating a member base of more than 100 million, one of the largest in Japan. From April, as part of a household-support campaign, we offered 4% points back on au PAY purchases at approximately 14,500 Lawson stores nationwide, with higher rewards on Santaro Days, to strengthen cooperation and encourage au PAY usage.」

「To expand customer touchpoints, from February this year we unified payment and commerce services under the au PAY brand. From February through March, we also held the “Everyone! ¥1 billion Every Week! Giveaway Campaign” for all customers who used au PAY during the campaign period.」

「To expand customer touchpoints, we entered into capital and business alliance agreements with Lawson, Inc. and Loyalty Marketing, Inc. in December last year, and began offering au Smart Pass Premium to customers who do not use au.」

「In July this year, we began offering free shipping on au Wowma! purchases to au Smart Pass Premium members. On au Wowma!, we launched the live-commerce service Live TV. In the payments business, au PAY was expanded to customers who do not use au in August, and registered users surpassed 5 million in September.」

「In the payments business, we launched the au PAY mobile payment service in April this year. In June, the number of registered users surpassed 3 million and the number of locations where it could be used surpassed 1 million.」

「au Smart Pass Premium focused on strengthening benefits for seniors and students. As a result, membership surpassed 7 million at the end of the fiscal year, exceeding one-third of total au Smart Pass membership.」

「To integrate telecommunications and life design, we are actively developing new value propositions for customers by expanding life-design services in non-telecommunications areas, including commerce, finance, energy, entertainment and education. We aim to increase transaction value by expanding commerce businesses such as Wowma! and payment businesses such as au WALLET cards, while expanding and strengthening the energy business, including by making 株式会社エナリス a consolidated subsidiary in December last year. We will continue proposing a diverse range of life-design services by establishing a financial business and entering the education business, thereby maximizing the au ecosystem.」

「In the commerce business, we launched the live-commerce app CHECK in August this year, enabling products to be introduced and sold through live video. In September, we launched the Interior AR Experience feature on Wowma!, allowing customers to check how products would look in their homes before purchasing. We will continue to combine entertainment and commerce to provide new shopping experiences.」

「In May this year, we announced au Flat Plan 25 Netflix Pack, Japan’s first bundled plan combining telecommunications charges with Netflix content fees. By offering an attractive new plan that allows customers to enjoy Netflix’s extensive content anytime and anywhere, we aim to deliver a better customer experience.」

「au Smart Pass Premium steadily increased its membership through initiatives including student-discount campaigns and member-only benefits on “Santaro Days,” surpassing 4 million members in March this year. In the commerce business, we formed a capital and business alliance in March this year with 株式会社エブリー, which operates a video media business, to enter the live-commerce market, where further growth is expected. In the financial business, KDDI Asset Management株式会社 was established as a joint venture with Daiwa Securities Group Inc. to support customers’ asset building. In the payments business, the number of au WALLET cards issued continued to grow, and au WALLET payment transaction value surpassed ¥1 trillion in March this year.」

「au Smart Pass Premium steadily increased its membership through initiatives including student-discount campaigns and member-only benefits on “Santaro Days,” surpassing 3 million members in December last year. In the commerce business, to increase the number of products listed on Wowma!, we strengthened support for merchants by launching the new store-management system Wow! manager and new search advertising, among other initiatives. We also formed a capital and business alliance with Inagora株式会社, which operates a cross-border e-commerce business targeting China, to further expand the business. In the payments business, the number of au WALLET cards issued continued to grow, and the number of active au WALLET credit card members surpassed 3 million on 8 December last year. We also expanded payment volumes by introducing au Easy Settlement as a payment method for Amazon Prime and Prime Student membership fees on 9 November last year.」

「au Smart Pass Premium steadily increased its membership through member-only benefits on “Santaro Days” and other initiatives, surpassing 2 million members in September this year. In the commerce business, Wowma! and au WALLET Market were revamped to provide customers with a more convenient shopping experience.」

「In the commerce business, on 15 June this year we began accepting applications for a new seller plan for merchants on the Wowma! online shopping mall, with a transaction fee rate among the lowest in Japan’s e-commerce industry, and ran a campaign waiving joining and monthly fees, among other initiatives to increase the number of participating stores.」

「In January this year, au Shopping Mall, operated in cooperation with DeNA Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “DeNA”), and DeNA Shopping, operated by DeNA, were integrated and launched under the new brand “Wowma!”」

「On 28 December last year, KDDIコマースフォワード株式会社 was established and succeeded to both businesses: au Shopping Mall, operated in cooperation with DeNA Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “DeNA”), and DeNA Shopping, operated by DeNA.」

「Value-added ARPA for the second quarter increased by ¥70 year on year to ¥500. The main factors were steady growth in au Smart Pass membership, higher payment-fee revenue from au Easy Settlement and au WALLET, and higher merchandise revenue from au WALLET Market.」

「In the Value segment, we aim to transform the business into a “life design company.” To maximize the au ecosystem and expand business in new areas, we provide value-added services such as content and payments while pursuing various new initiatives.」

「In addition to conventional telecommunications services, we will comprehensively provide payment, retail, energy and financial services under au life design. By leveraging our domestic telecommunications business foundation and generating synergies, we will expand the au ecosystem.」