Konbini: Japan's voucher / cash
Konbini is a voucher / cash used in Japan. Japan's convenience-store cash payment rail — an e-commerce reference paid at 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart and others. Tens of thousands of konbini across Japan (7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart, MiniStop, Seicomart, Daily Yamazaki). This page covers how the flow works, where consumers use it, and which merchants should accept it.
How the Konbini flow works
At checkout the merchant's PSP generates a Konbini reference (a store code and payment number, sometimes a barcode) with an expiry — typically several days.
The shopper takes the reference to any participating konbini and pays in cash at the register or at an in-store kiosk (Loppi, Famiport).
The store transmits the payment to the network operator; the merchant's PSP receives a webhook confirming the payment, typically within minutes to hours.
Konbini remains a meaningful e-commerce rail in Japan despite growing card and QR-wallet adoption, thanks to the cultural preference for cash and the density of the konbini network.
Typical use cases
- Japanese e-commerce serving cash-preferring or card-averse consumers.
- Gaming top-ups, digital goods, ticketing.
- High-ticket categories where a portion of the buyer base won't complete on card.
Consumer reach
Tens of thousands of konbini across Japan (7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart, MiniStop, Seicomart, Daily Yamazaki).
Universal recognition and reach beyond the banked/carded population.
Who should accept Konbini
- Any Japanese e-commerce serving a broad demographic.
- Cross-border merchants selling into Japan.
- Digital goods and gaming merchants where cash top-up UX matters.
Operational detail
The operational half of every method profile — settlement, refunds, disputes, PSP coverage and licensing — is reserved for Payment Methods List founding partners. It's the part vendor sites won't publish and the part that actually decides whether Konbini works for your stack.
Settlement time
The gap between the payer's cash payment at the point of sale and funds arriving in the merchant account, how reconciliation files are delivered, weekend and holiday behaviour in Japan, and the aggregators that shorten the cycle.
Book a founding-partner call →Refund mechanics
Whether Konbini supports refunds at all once the cash leg is complete, the payout mechanism used in practice (bank transfer to the payer, store credit, or manual ops), the SLA to the consumer, and PSPs that automate it.
Book a founding-partner call →Chargeback exposure
Whether Konbini generates any dispute exposure once the cash leg has settled, the fraud vectors that do exist (voucher resale, refund abuse, insider fraud at the retail network), and observed loss patterns.
Book a founding-partner call →PSP coverage matrix
The retail network footprint Konbini rides on, which aggregators integrate the payout leg cleanly, effective all-in cost per ticket, and coverage in tier-2/3 cities in Japan.
Book a founding-partner call →KYC & licensing notes
Licensing status of the Konbini operator and the retail network in Japan, AML and cash-handling rules that flow to the merchant, the KYC posture on payer-side data, and MoR alternatives when direct acceptance isn't viable.
Book a founding-partner call →Frequently asked questions about Konbini
What is Konbini?
Konbini is a voucher / cash used in Japan, in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan's convenience-store cash payment rail — an e-commerce reference paid at 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart and others. The profile on this page documents the checkout flow step by step, the use cases it fits, the consumer base that can pay with it, and the merchant types that should carry it. Last reviewed July 31, 2026 by Ale Aznar.
Which countries does Konbini cover?
Konbini is recorded against Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, which is the market where its consumer reach is meaningful for merchants. Cross-border acceptance depends on the acquirer or merchant-of-record you use rather than on the rail itself. The Japan country hub lists every other alternative and local method tracked for that market alongside Konbini.
What does Konbini cost a merchant?
Pricing for Konbini is not a single published number: it moves with monthly volume, vertical, entity type and whether you connect through a direct acquirer or an aggregator. Effective pricing bands per provider, plus the fixed-fee and FX components that sit alongside the headline rate, are part of the founding-partner dataset rather than this public Japan profile.
Which PSPs and aggregators give access to Konbini?
Access to Konbini runs either through an acquirer with a direct rail connection or through an aggregator reselling a partner's connection, and the two differ in reliability and reporting. The list of providers processing Konbini in Japan today, whether each is direct or resold, and where onboarding is currently restricted sits in the founding-partner PSP coverage matrix.
Is Konbini available for Japanese e-commerce serving cash-preferring or card-averse consumers?
Yes. That is one of the documented use cases for Konbini in Japan: Japanese e-commerce serving cash-preferring or card-averse consumers. Vertical eligibility is ultimately set by the provider you onboard with, not by the rail, so regulated categories such as gambling, crypto and adult content are commonly excluded even where the voucher / cash itself supports the flow. Confirm the restriction list with your acquirer.
What are the settlement time and currency for Konbini?
Konbini is a voucher / cash, so the payer-side confirmation and the merchant-side payout are separate events with different timing. Settlement windows, cut-off behaviour outside scheme hours, the payout currency, and the realistic timeline to sweep funds out of Japan are documented in the operational section of this profile, available to Payment Methods List founding partners.