Visa is the official payment technology partner for the 2020 olympics. Their goal is to make cashless payment the norm and have been experimenting with many different payment options.

Japan is the world’s third largest economy and a leader of many industries, but their society is very cash-based. A lot of blogs and travel tips recommend having an ample amount of cash when visiting Japan so you can get good exchange rates and not have to worry about restaurants not accepting card.

Visa is using this opportunity to bring cashless payment options to Japan in hopes of increasing their revenue and “enhance the olympic experience.”

Visa cites that only ⅕ of all transactions in Japan are digital, whereas the U.S. is 60%, China is 70%, and South Korea is at 90%. Japan’s digital transactions are very low compared to other countries that are as advanced.

Visa is focusing on bringing cashless point of sale systems to quick-service restaurants, and possibly even wearables with new applications to pay.