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Home > News > Smart Pit, the service that allows customers to pay their fees at convenience stores
Will be adopted as a method for the payment of automobile recycling charges
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| 2004.08.18 |
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Smart Pit, the service that allows customers to pay their fees at convenience stores
Will be adopted as a method for the payment of automobile recycling charges
Smart Pit, a service provided by NTT Comware Corporation (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yuhji Imai), allows customers to make payments for purchases made online or at other venues at authorized convenience stores without a bill issued from the place of purchase. This service will be used by the Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center from January 1,2005 as a method of payment for the automobile recycling charges required by the "Law Pertaining to Resource Recovery and other Aspects of End-of-life Vehicles" (Automobile Recycling Law).
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[ Payment of Automobile Recycling Fees ]
Automobile recycling charges are fees that will be deposited by car owners upon purchasing a new car from January 1, 2004, when taking their car in for its mandatory vehicle maintenance check (shaken) and when disposing of their car. Of these three occasions, the Smart Pit service may be used to pay the automobile recycling charges incurred at the shaken and when the car is being disposed of.
Many of the procedures for the shaken and vehicle disposal are commissioned to authorized automobile service shops and dealers. These establishments send information including the vehicle number and Smart Pit usage by personal computer or FAX to the Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center, the organization responsible for management of the fund obtained from the automobile recycling charges. After this information has been sent, the car-owner can pay the charges by presenting a Smart Pit card, available at automobile service shops and dealers, at an authorized convenience store. The amount of the recycling charge is set for each vehicle by the automobile manufacturers.
[ Overview of the Smart Pit Service ]
The Smart Pit service allows customers to make purchases from mail-order companies or on the Internet shopping sites by simply entering the ID number on their Smart Pit card. The customer then presents the Smart Pit card at an authorized convenience store to pay for their purchase*. Smart Pit cards are available at both authorized convenience stores and on the Internet. The Smart Pit card may only be used for making orders and payments, and payments are made in cash. The Smart Pit ID number is different from both bank account and credit card numbers in that it contains no personal information so it is not possible for third parties to use the card or obtain other information from it. In addition, the Smart Pit card allows merchandise companies to cut costs associated with the printing, issuing and mailing of bills and payment receipts.
Approximately 600 merchandisers are currently using the Smart Card service, and the service is being used more and more frequently in areas outside of product merchandising such as adding credit to prepaid cards. Moreover, the number of convenience stores at which Smart Pit card payments can be presented is approximately 22,000. NTT Comware is currently approaching the relevant institutions and agencies so that in the future, Smart Pit cards may also be used to pay public utility charges and fees for government services. At the same time, NTT Comware is also working to increase the number of convenience stores where the Smart Pit card service is available.
In the 2004 fiscal year, the first fiscal year the Automobile Recycling Law is in effect, NTT Comware's goal for total proceeds from the Smart Pit Service is 2 billion Yen.
| • Authorized Smart Pit Convenience Store Chains and Number of Participating Stores
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· Lawson Co., Ltd. |
( 7,851 stores ) |
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· Family Mart Co., Ltd. |
( 6,196 stores ) |
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· Three F Co., Ltd |
( 665 stores ) |
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· Mini Stop Co., Ltd. |
( 1,632 stores ) |
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· Circle-K Japan Co., Ltd. |
( 2,949 stores ) |
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· SunKus and Associates Co., Ltd |
( 3,292 stores ) |
| Total: 22,585 stores ( As of the end of July 2004 )
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* NOTE: Some convenience store chains have set up in-store automated kiosks equipped with touch screens at each of their stores. At Lawson stores, customers may use the "Loppi" machines, and at Family Mart stores, customers may use the "Fami Port" machines. When using these kiosks, enter the ID number on the Smart Pit card and bring the receipt provided by the kiosk to the cashier.
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The information shown in this page is the latest as of the day of the release. It is subject to change without further notice. Thank you for your kind understanding and consideration.
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