LY Communications

Complete the entire process on LINE, so there’s no need to go to a convenience store and pay for a disposal ticket.
A 96% user satisfaction rate among users in the Chuo Ward, where the feature was first offered.

LINE Corporation (“LINE”; Location: Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Takeshi Idezawa); LINE Pay Corporation (“LINE Pay”; Location: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director/CEO: Youngsu Ko), a LINE subsidiary and operator of LINE Pay (a mobile remittance and payment service available through the LINE messaging app); and Fukuoka-based LINE subsidiary, LINE Fukuoka Corporation (“LINE Fukuoka”; Location: Hakata Ward, Fukuoka; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Noritaka Ochiai); are pleased to announce that the feature which allows users to pay oversized trash processing fees with LINE Pay is expanding its usage area to all regions of Fukuoka City as of Tuesday, January 28, 2020. The feature is available on the official “Fukuoka City Oversized Garbage Reservations” (福岡市粗大ごみ受付) LINE account (LINE ID: @fukuokacity_sdg), which lets users apply to have oversized garbage collected on the LINE platform.

A verification test of the feature began on Monday, July 1, 2019 exclusively in Chuo Ward. We have received a lot of positive feedback from users who applied for oversized garbage collection in Chuo Ward, and are now aiming to further improve convenience for Fukuoka residents by expanding the usage area to all regions of Fukuoka City as of today.

・ Background behind expansion into all regions of Fukuoka City
In a survey targeting people who had used the processing fee payment feature in Chuo Ward (where it was first offered), 96% of users responded that it was convenient, and we received a lot of positive feedback in the comment section as well. Additionally, 30% of the users who paid with LINE Pay registered a new account on LINE Pay just to use this feature. We think that this seamless for completing and paying for oversized garbage pick-up reservations on LINE is the result of our contributions to improved user convenience.

(Usage trends)
– Percentage of requests made through the official “Fukuoka City Oversized Garbage Reservations” LINE account: Chuo Ward leads with 29%, and the other six wards at 23% 1
– Satisfaction rate of users of the same account who also paid processing fees through LINE Pay: 96% 2

(Main comments from users)
– Going to the convenience store every time to buy a disposal ticket was annoying, so I thought it was really convenient.
– Calling during office hours is difficult, so being able to easily apply and pay on LINE is convenient.

・Official “Fukuoka City Oversized Garbage Reservations” LINE account overview

LINE announced the official “Fukuoka City Oversized Garbage Reservations” LINE account for requesting oversized garbage pick-up on LINE in September 2018. As our first initiative with a local government, we started a verification test of the account and transitioned into full-scale implementation in May 2019. The account was also well received in the verification test leading up to full-scale implementation.

<How to use the account>
① Add the official “Fukuoka City Oversized Garbage Reservations” LINE account (LINE ID: @fukuokacity_sdg) as a friend.
② Enter what you want collected and the number of pieces on the “Oversized Garbage Pick-up Application” (粗大ごみ収集の申し込み).
③ Enter the pick-up location and desired date, and choose where you will leave the garbage for pick-up.
④ Pay the oversized garbage processing fee on LINE Pay.3
⑤ Write the reservation number, pick-up date and fee on a piece of paper, then attach it to your oversized garbage.
⑥ Take your oversized garbage to the designated pick-up spot by 8:30 am on the pick-up date and you’re done!

1 Data collection period: July 1-December 31, 2019
2 Data taken from a survey targeting service users (Aggregation period: July 1-December 31, 2019)
3 Users must register and add money to their account on the mobile payment service LINE Pay in advance.

・ Other initiatives we’re working on together with Fukuoka City
LINE, LINE Fukuoka, and Fukuoka City concluded an “Information Provision Fortification Tie-up Agreement” (情報発信強化に関する連携協定) in October 2016, and a “Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Community Collaboration Projects” (地域共働事業に関する包括連携協定) in August 2018. We are continuing to work together towards the realization of a future-oriented “Smart City.”

The official Fukuoka City LINE account was released in April 2017 with the concept of users receiving only the information they want, and has grown to have over 1.64 million registered friends. Since it’s release, features for the account have continued to expand, including the recently added “Infrastructure Report” (道路公園通報) feature (which allows users to easily report damage to roads, parks and waterways through LINE), and “Evacuation Action Support” (避難行動支援), another highly praised feature that supports users by seamlessly changing from the default Normal Mode and Disaster Mode to support users when a disaster strikes.

Opportunities for LINE technology to be utilized in Fukuoka’s municipal services also continue to expand with the full-scale adoption of cashless payments after the completion of the Fukuoka City Full Support Verification Test “Cashless” Project. These include the continued ability to pay at local municipal offices with LINE Pay.

The LINE group will continue to promote making Fukuoka a “Smart City” in the future. Through this effort, we will strive to realize our vision of a “Life on LINE,” in which we will “pursue ‘WOW’ by becoming a life infrastructure that leverages lifestyle innovations to support all aspects of users’ lives” 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.