LY Communications

Wide-ranging application that supports features starting from tax payment to service fees settlement at various facilities. LINE strives to make our lives better by providing seamless sophisticated administrative services.

LINE Corporation (located in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Takeshi Idezawa) together with its subsidiary and operator of the LINE Pay service (which allows users to make mobile money transfers and payments through the LINE messaging app), LINE Pay Corporation (located in Shinjuku ward, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Ko Youngsu, http://line.me/pay), and another one of its subsidiaries, LINE Fukuoka Corporation (located in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka; Representative Director, President and CEO: Noritaka Ochiai), are pleased to announce that LINE Pay will now be accepted as a payment method for the Fukuoka City Tax. Furthermore, we were selected as the QR code payment operator for the City and its facilities.

The full-fledged implementation of services designed for the payment of the City Tax and its cashless payment features at Fukuoka City office and its facilities will begin on April 1.
As a result, the Fukuoka municipal government has expanded on the service options that can be settled by LINE Pay, which includes payment of taxes as well as the required fees to obtain copies of Juminhyo or certificate of residence. In addition, we will further consider building an all-in-one contact point that encompasses anywhere from the processing of administrative applications to payments of diverse services by harnessing our on-going collaborative partnership between Fukuoka City and LINE Accounts.

We would also like to provide a status report on how LINE has been used to streamline administrative services of Fukuoka City so far.

From April 1, 2019, LINE Pay Corporation will make it possible for users to pay the Fukuoka City Tax through the LINE Pay Invoice Payment service.
The service allows users to make payment with LINE Pay 24/7 wherever they are, just by scanning the printed barcode on the invoice slip or payment form with their smartphone. This will cut down on the time spent going to an ATM machine to withdraw cash as well as on the trip to a convenience store or a bank. Subsequently, this will lead to an increased user-friendliness for the users, in addition to the prevention of delinquency, and ultimately, contributing to an improved tax revenue.

• - Light vehicle tax
• - City prefectural inhabitants tax on individuals (general collection)
• - Fixed asset tax and urban planning tax
• - Fixed asset tax (depreciable assets)

※Currently, the maximum payable amount of LINE Pay is 50,000 yen, but from May 7, this will go up to 300,000 yen.

Details of LINE Pay Invoice Payment:
LINE Pay Official Blog: http://pay-blog.line.me/archives/74562305.html

Fukuoka City issued a public offering for project proposals that would enhance the user-friendliness of the local residents and tourists, as well as to further streamline the clerical work of public workers. The offering was specifically aimed at improving the QR-code payment services, and LINE Group was selected to spearhead the project on March 18th. As a result, from April 2019, LINE Pay will be implemented at 20 contact points and 39 facilities of Fukuoka City, and the following services will be supported: handling fees for issuing various certificates such as Juminhyo or certificates of residence as well as Kosekitohon or family registers; entrance fees for public gymnasiums; bicycle parking lots; and entrance fees of museums, the Fukuoka City Zoo and the botanical garden, etc.

In June 2018, we were selected to lead the Fukuoka City Full Support Verification Test Project in the categories of “Fukuoka City Facilities” and “Private Facilities” under the overarching theme of “Cashless.” As such, we have promoted cashlessness by LINE Pay throughout Fukuoka City.
This time, we are proud to announce that we were asked to fully implement the cashless technology. Subsequently, the locations that support LINE Pay were substantially increased from the current 7 facilities to 20 contact points and 39 facilities, which included various ward offices.
Through these efforts, we aim to further contribute to the enhanced services and the convenience of the local residents as well as tourists from home and abroad. In addition, we hope that this will lead to the improved efficiency of public servants.

Other Major Initiatives

Based on the “Information Provision Fortification Tie-up Agreement” concluded with Fukuoka City in October 2016 (predecessor of the "Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Community Collaboration Projects" that was concluded in 2018), we launched Fukuoka City’s Official LINE Account (LINE ID: @fukuokacity) in April 2017. The initiative has garnered popularity as users can receive pertinent information by selecting the following categories: “garbage collection schedule”, which notifies residents on the collection days according to the area and type of garbage; and “disaster prevention”, which provides emergency information for the designated areas. The function which allows users to receive only need-based information has been well-received and the number of registered users is still increasing even two years after its implementation (1.6 million).

Based on the "Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Community Collaboration Projects" concluded with Fukuoka City in August 2018, we began running a trial in September 2018 of a system using AI that let users apply to have their oversized garbage picked up through the “Fukuoka City Oversized Garbage Reservations” LINE account. This system has been very well received by users: about one month after its launch, more than 10,000 people had registered the account, and it enjoys a 98% user satisfaction rate.

LINE Group was selected in the “Fukuoka City Full Support Verification Test Project” for the category of “Fukuoka Moving and Certificate Guide.” Following this, we launched a LINE Account (LINE ID: @eaf2269u) in March 2019 and started the verification test, aiming to improve administrative services using LINE’s technology and reduce the workload of administrative officials. This enables users to find out the type of documents and procedures on LINE in several tens of seconds. Such documents and procedures vary depending on whether users are moving in or moving out of townships, as well as on the household size.

From now on, we are considering to equip both accounts of “Fukuoka City Oversized Garbage Reservations” and “Fukuoka City Moving and Certificate Guide,” with a feature where one can complete the whole process of search, application, and execution of service fees payment by LINE Pay all in one action by a smartphone.

Under our mission, ”CLOSING THE DISTANCE”, LINE Group will continue to utilize LINE's advanced technologies such as AI and Fintech even in the area of administration services and strengthen the collaboration with Fukuoka City to realize a richer and more convenient smart city.