The Self Checkout Barcode Reader Dilemma

Reach out and touch is not something we want to be doing right now. Along with wrangling face masks and Face ID iPhone Apple Pay in the Covid-19 era, we also face another hurdle: self checkout barcode readers. Any volunteers out there who like fondling public plastic? I didn’t think so.

Convenience store self checkout all have the same deal: scan with barcode reader, tap some choices on the checkout touchscreen, scan a rewards card and pay with Apple Pay Suica, etc. The stationary barcode readers at JR East station NewDays are slightly better but you still have the touchscreen to deal with.

Barcode app and plastic variety reward cards were already a pain in the ass before all the fun started and are worse now. Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap for NFC contactless reward cards has been in place for some time but uptake in Japan has been slow and small. So far only 3 contactless NFC point cards exist: Docomo dPOINT, T-Point and PONTA, and only 2 places use them: LAWSON (dPOINT and PONTA) and Tsutaya (T-Point). Part of the problem is that VAS/Smart Tap support depends on 2 factors: the reader and the POS system.

Most modern NFC readers support Apple and Google protocols but POS system support is another matter. Pre-packaged POS system providers like AirPay and J-Mups that are popular with smaller merchants don’t support them yet. This means that only big retailers with deep POS development resources like LAWSON (Mitsubishi Corp group) have added NFC contactless reward card support so far.

Apple Pay Japan supports dPOINT and PONTA cards but there are subtle differences: PONTA card requires Face/Touch ID authentication, dPOINT does not. I have not fully tested dPOINT for point payment but suspect authentication is not required for getting points but required for paying with points. One hopes that with the Covid-19 crisis in full swing, retailers and card empires (JRE Card, etc.) have the incentive to provide customers with the safest contactless experience for both payments and reward cards.

dPoint card can be accessed without Face/Touch ID, PONTA requires authentication