Why do Japanese people use suica and pasmo but not credit card?

If you have ever got on any kind of train or subway in Japan, you have probably noticed that most Japanese people use a type of pre-payed card called "suica"or"pasmo." These cards are issued by the Tokyo Metro which can be used on the subway and other lines like the JR line. Its harder to find someone that is not using these cards even in rural places.

But why do 90% of Japanese people use this pre-payed cards, but not other types of cashless payment like credit cards? It is not like Japanese people don't have credit cards or other payment methods, it is just the fact that we prefer to use cash. The main reason behind this is the fact that its pre-payed or not. We still have to use cash to charge our suica and pasmos. So we know exactly how much is in it. The credit cards are a little different and we think people tend not to use money that they can't see. However, although Japan is behind on the cashless society it is slowly catching up.


Chua, M. (2018, May 08). Contactless Payment in Japan - A Guide to Suica and Apple Pay for Foreigners. Retrieved from https://theshutterwhale.com/blog/2018/5/8/contactless-payment-in-japan-a-guide-to-suica-and-apple-pay-for-foreigners

Nerea, I. (2018, October 26). Why Japan Still Uses Cash: Articles on Izanau. Retrieved from https://izanau.com/article/view/cash-japan