PayPay is a cashless payment service in Japan that grew seemingly overnight.

I witnessed how even in the countryside where cash was the dominant means of transaction, the app spread really fast. So… I asked ChatGPT and did a bit of research on how it grew so quickly:

TLDR;

- Thousands of sales people going to every store small and large to pitch the benefits of cashless payments (mostly low transaction fees of merchants and ease of use)

- Incentives for consumers - cash back on purchases and “PayPay Jumbo - a chance to win up to 100% of your payment back”

- The 10 Billion yen giveaway campaign - basically sweepstakes.

- Developing and promoting marketing solutions that help merchants grow their sales. This feels vague but I have seen marketing displays (banners, large signs, table cards etc..) in stores where PayPay was promoted more visibly than any other form of payment. Basically, PayPay is invested in the merchant’s success, aligning themselves with their outcomes.

PayPay’s ultimate goal is to become the WeChat of Japan’s commerce - allowing people to pay for anything with the app.

Parker Lewis thinks Merchant adoption is what is ultimately going to drive bitcoin adoption. We certainly have a case study for this theory with PayPay.

What would it take for Bitcoin to follow a similar path? I think growth could be aided with the following:

1. A single re-branded app similar to Cash App, but marketed as a Payment solution. Bpay, beepay - I’m terrible at this buy you get the idea. Focus on “pay”. Ideally it would also tie in the concept of fast, quick.

2. A sales force to go out and educate merchants on the benefits of this app. You’d probably want to start in a country that has low credit card acceptance rate (like Japan). This would obviously require some serious funding and a marketing plan to help merchants not only understand the app, but also provide marketing materials to promote it.

3. A consumer app that focuses on simple UX and quick payments with QR code.

Of course, you could think about other types of campaigns and if your marketing budget is enough, there’s no reason you couldn’t run them if they are profitable.

Cash App / Square is likely the company that could potentially execute this plan. The focus would need to be on positioning of the app and the clarity of it’s benefits.

Curious to hear your thoughts!