双语阅读｜日本无现金化进展缓慢
BIC CAMERA, a Japanese electronics retailer, accepts payments in so many ways that the list nearly obscures the till: credit, debit and pre-paid cards; mobile wallets; ApplePay and Alipay; and, in some stores since April, bitcoin too.
日本电子产品零售商BIC CAMERA接受多种付款方式，让付款方式表几乎遮住了收银台：信用卡、借记卡和预付卡；移动钱包；ApplePay和支付宝；此外，自今年4月以来，比特币也可在一些商店中使用。
Efforts are under way to wean Japan off genkin, or cash. Handling notes and coins is expensive for businesses; many operate on tight margins because a persistent lack of inflation has inhibited price rises. The government reckons more cashless payments could help the economy, too, encouraging people, including a growing number of tourists, to spend more. (And help it collect more tax.) Entrepreneurs think the data that come with cashless methods could promote new business.
目前，日本正在想办法摆脱对“现金”的依赖。对企业来说，处理纸币和硬币的成本昂贵；由于持续的通货膨胀抑制价格上涨，许多企业的利润率很低。日本政府认为更多的无现金支付方式或许对经济有帮助，因此鼓励民众更多地花钱，这其中包括让游客更多地消费。（这也有助于税收的增加）。企业家们认为，通过无现金方式获取的数据能推动新业务的发展。
Yet cash still dominates. Thank a preponderance of ATMs in ubiquitous konbini (convenience stores), safe cities where people are happy to carry wads of cash, and wariness about handing over personal data. Last year cash accounted for 62% of consumer transactions by value, according to Euromonitor, a market-research firm. That is down from 65% in 2015, but compares with just 22% in Britain, 34% in America, 10% in South Korea and 50% in China.
然而，现金仍旧是主流，这是由于无处不在的便利商店里安置有ATM机，在安全度很高的城市，人们乐于携带大量现金，并对个人数据隐私心存警惕。根据市场研究机构Euromonitor的数据，在2016年，现金占到消费者交易额的62%。这一数字低于2015年的65%，不过，相比之下，英国仅为22%，美国为34%，韩国为10%，中国为50%。
Of the other methods, pre-paid cards are increasingly popular. They covered 12% more transactions by value in 2016 than the year before, despite mainly being used for payments under ¥3,000 ($26). Retailers small and large, such as Rakuten, a giant of e-commerce, have launched their own cards. Transport companies’ cards are widely used, too.
在其他支付方法中，预付卡越来越受欢迎。2016年，预付卡的交易额比前一年多了12%，尽管主要用于3000日元(合26美元)数额以下的支付。小型零售商，比如电子商务巨头乐天，推出了自己的预付购物卡。各种交通卡也得到广泛使用。
Tsuneharu Miyake, head of financial research at Mizuho Research Institute, argues that this proliferation of plastic can in large part be attributed to companies wanting to keep their customers. Most cards offer bonus schemes. But because they cannot be used in every outlet, this trend means the slow shift from cash has not brought the convenience and lower costs that were hoped for. Ryosuke Izumida, author of a book on the future of banking, says it is a “real hassle” for businesses to have to fork out for hardware for each system or risk losing customers. Consumers may benefit from this competition for their custom. But there are drawbacks for them, too. Some complain that their favoured card is not accepted universally and, says Mr Miyake, the cost of installing multiple devices is passed on to them.
瑞穗研究所负责金融研究的Tsuneharu Miyake认为，预付卡的广泛使用在很大程度上要归功于想要留住客户的企业。大多数卡片都提供回馈计划。不过，由于它们不能在每一家店里使用，这一趋势意味着现金的缓慢转移并没有带来预期达到的便利并降低成本。一本有关银行业未来的图书作者Ryosuke Izumida认为，企业必须为每一个系统提供硬件，否则就会面临失去客户的风险，这是一个“真正的麻烦”。消费者可能会从经常性地消费中受益， 不过，也有一些不足之处。一些消费者报怨称他们亲睐的一些预付费卡并不能通用，而Miyakey认为，安排多个刷卡器的成本会转嫁到消费者身上。
Meanwhile many businesses still refuse credit cards. That is a problem for tourists—and for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. In McDonald’s fast-food outlets in Japan, for example, 13 different pre-paid cards are accepted, but not Visa or MasterCard. (It is planning to change that this winter.)
与此同时，许多企业仍然拒绝信用卡，这对游客甚至是2020年东京奥运会来说，会是一个大问题。例如，在日本的麦当劳门店里，接受13种不同的预付卡，却不接受 Visa或万事达卡。(麦当劳计划在今年冬天改变这一现状。)
The fragmentation of the payments market may get worse as Japan continues to move away from cash. Companies outside the financial sector, such as social-media apps, may launch payment arms, as Tencent’s WeChat has done in China. Foreign companies are coming in, too. Some shops accept Alipay, a Chinese e-payment system that can be used by a retailer who simply downloads an app. Reports suggest it will launch a Japanese version next year.
随着日本民众越来越多地不使用现金，支付市场的碎片化问题可能会变得更严重。金融行业以外的企业，如社交媒体应用，可能会推出支付工具，就像腾讯的微信在中国一样。外国企业也纷纷加入进来。一些商店接受中国的电子支付系统支付宝，只要简单地下载应用就能使用。一些报道表示，支付宝将在明年推出日本版。
Banks, fearful of losing out to newcomers, are also working on e-payments. A consortium (including Mr Miyake’s parent company, Mizuho Financial Group) is developing JCoin, a digital currency. It hopes to have the scale needed to squeeze others out. If the government is to fulfil its aim of doubling cashless payments in the next decade, it may have to regulate to curb the use of cash. Back in Bic Camera, that goal seems a long way off, as customers rifle through their purses and wallets for hard-copy yen.
由于担心会败给新来者，日本银行也推出电子支付。一个财团(包括他的母公司瑞穗金融集团)正在开发数字货币JCoin，希望能形成足够的规模，击败其他竞争对手。如果日本政府想要实现在未来10年内实现无现金支付的目标，那么可能需要通过监管来控制现金的使用。回到上述的Bic Camera门店，这个目标似乎还有很长一段路要走，因为消费者在他们的钱包翻找日币。
编译：雷月营
审校：李文卓
编辑：翻吧君
来源：经济学人