GDP The key to the future is “cashless payment”

GDP The key to the future is “cashless payment” November 14, 19:18

In fact, GDP from July to September is lower by 0.1% in real growth excluding price fluctuations, and 0.2% lower than the previous three months. It stayed at the growth rate. Last month, the consumption tax rate was raised to 10%, and the key to the future is “personal consumption”, which accounts for more than half of GDP. Of particular note is cashless payment, which is said to support consumption after tax increases.

Spreading cashless payment

With the introduction of the cashless return point system in line with the increase in the consumption tax rate, cashless payments are spreading rapidly at the consumption site.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the amount of money that has been returned to users as points has so far increased to an average of 1.1 billion yen per day, exceeding the government's expectations.

At a major convenience store, Lawson, the payment rate for cashless payments last month was 26%, an increase of 6 points compared to September before the tax increase.

At the Shinagawa Ward store in Tokyo, many customers who visited the store had paid for them using electronic money or smartphone payment using QR codes.

A man in his 40s who paid with a credit card said, `` I can use cashless payment even with a small amount recently, because I can feel the benefits if I continue point reduction and there is also the convenience that I do not have to carry small coins. '' I was talking.

As cashless payments are rapidly expanding, operators that handle payment services see new business opportunities as they aim to expand their businesses.

One of them is “Origami”, a smartphone payment application. On this day, the person in charge visited Lawson's headquarters to discuss measures for expanding users in the future.

Mr. Yukihiko Sakuma from Origami said, “The number of inquiries from stores that want to join is increasing, and I feel that there is a growing interest. "

On the other hand, Mr. Atsushi Soeda, Lawson's Digital Strategy Department said, “The number of cashless payment users has increased and the point return system has had a certain effect. I want to examine it. "

Increase in demand for cashless human resources

As the use of cashless payments increases, the number of temporary employees who are involved in sales and the development of systems that sell electronic payment terminals to stores is increasing.

According to “En Japan”, which operates a job site, the average hourly wage in September is 1827 yen in the Kanto region, which is 73 yen compared to the same month of the previous year. It ’s an increase of about 4%.

This is 190 yen above the average for all types of temporary staff, reflecting the growing demand for cashless human resources.

In addition, IT-related human resources engaged in payment application development and system maintenance, call center operator operations responding to inquiries from users, etc., as well as jobs related to data entry office work related to payment terminals, etc. are increasing. about it.

Jun Nakajima, head of the recruitment site for “En-Japan,” said, “Payment companies are actively investing in human resources. “The market is expanding one after another, and the demand for human resources is likely to remain high.”

Sales decline due to global economic slowdown

On the other hand, due to the slowdown in the global economy, some small and medium-sized manufacturers have seen a significant decline in sales due to a drop in overseas production and exports.

MS Co., Ltd., an auto parts manufacturer in Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture, designs and manufactures molds for rubber parts used in automobiles. Increased demand from overseas countries such as China and other Asian countries and North America Has increased sales.

However, in addition to the sluggish production and sales of cars in China since last summer against the background of trade friction between the United States and China, since then, demand has dropped in India and Thailand. As a result, the company's overseas production and exports are also decreasing.

In the United States, the auto parts manufacturer that exported to China and other Asian countries has switched to local production due to the effects of trade friction, so the workload has been halved in recent months. is.

As a result, the company's sales from January to September are expected to decrease by about 40% from the same period last year, and will continue to be sluggish next year.

Mr. Hiromi Suwa, managing director of MS Manufacturing Co., Ltd., “The situation has been difficult for a long time since the Lehman shock. I would like to expand into fields other than molds while forming a tag with other companies. "