PiTaPa (Japanese pronunciation: ピタパ) is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used predominantly the Kansai region of Japan. The name PiTaP****a is an acronym of "Postpay IC for Touch and P****ay". In the Osaka area, PiTaPa is usable on the Osaka Municipal Subway and New Tram, Keihan Electric Railway, and Hankyu Railway. It launched on August 1, 2004. Part of the Nationwide Mutual Usage Service, PiTaPa is usable on public transport across Japan. Unlike Japan's other major IC cards, PiTaPa operates as a post-pay system, rather than as a prepaid card.

System overview

PiTaPa is operated by スルッとKANSAI, a private company composed of various transit companies and transportation bureaus. Unlike most other electronic fare collection systems and IC cards in Japan, including JR East's Suica and JR West's ICOCA which operate on a "pre-pay" basis, PiTaPa is a "post-pay" card. Usage of the card is charged to the customer's account, and each month the balance owing is deducted from a designated bank account, as in a charge card. As such, a credit check is required to obtain a PiTaPa card, and the allowable balance is capped. This prevents short-time overseas visitors or short-term residents of Japan from obtaining or using PiTaPa. Beginning in June 2006, people over 20 could obtain a PiTaPa secured by a deposit in lieu of the credit check, although these cards could only be used to pay transport fares or in limited stores, without the electronic money functions of a normal credit card. This service was discontinued in March 2022. The underlying technology behind PiTaPa is an RFID technology developed by Sony called FeliCa.

Card types

"PiTaPa Basic Card" is the name given to the PiTaPa cards per se, and are issued by the Surutto KANSAI Conference. Most traffic companies in the PiTaPa network issue PiTaPa-compatible cards of their brands, either on their own or jointly with other companies. The cards, called "PiTaPa Affiliate Cards" by the Surutto KANSAI Conference, typically are built within credit cards and have special services or discounts offered by its issuers. In 2006, because of heavy marketing of the Affiliate Cards by the individual companies, Basic Cards constituted only 10–20 percent of all issued PiTaPa cards.

History

The concept to introduce a smart card fare system in the Kansai region was first announced on July 7, 2001, by the Surutto KANSAI Conference. The Conference initially announced in April 2002 that they were planning to consign operation of the system to Hitachi and JCB, but switched to the Japan Research Institute and 三井住友カード in July 2003. The name "PiTaPa" was made public on February 25, 2003. After four months of initial monitor testing, the service officially started on August 1, 2004, with three participating companies: Hankyu, Keihan and Nose Railway.

Companies and bureaus accepting PiTaPa

In 2013, PiTaPa became usable in all major cities across Japan as part of the Nationwide Mutual Usage Service. Prior to this, PiTaPa had been implemented and released as part of Affiliate Cards by a variety of companies and operators:

Rail

Buses

Other cards