Mercari Battles to be Profitable Leader in Japan Mobile Payments
- Founder and CEO Shintaro Yamada speaks in an interview
- Mercari’s biggest rivals are joining forces on mobile payments
Shintaro Yamada
Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Mercari Inc. wants to become the top provider of mobile payments in Japan even as its biggest rivals join forces, but that ambition is second to making the business profitable.
The company’s immediate focus is on improving profitability and expanding the lineup of merchants that accept payments using its Merpay service, founder and Chief Executive Officer Shintaro Yamada said in an interview. Mercari, whose second-hand market app is used by over 17 million people each month in Japan, is in no rush to compete for users with Line Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp.-backed PayPay, Yamada said.