On May 23, ANA X launched a major renewal of its smartphone payment service “ANA Pay” (iOS version). The new version allows users to instantly recharge miles in units of 1 mile, and to pay for recharged miles at 1 mile = 1 yen. ANA Pay has been developed as a code payment service (QR code payment) used with smartphones, but after the renewal, it now supports touch payment, and with the iPhone (iOS), it can be used as Apple Pay in the same way as credit cards and transportation IC cards registered in Wallet. The renewal of the Android version will be implemented soon. The following four recharge methods are available.
From the ANA miles you own
From Visa/Mastercard/JCB/Diners credit cards
From Apple Pay within the app
・ From cash at Seven Bank ATMs Charging from ANA miles can be redeemed with a minimum of 1 mile, even in fractional units of 1 mile; charging from credit cards including Apple Pay registered cards and Seven Bank ATMs can be done with a minimum of 1,000 yen, and thereafter in 1 yen increments. As with other Apple Pay services, users can make payments at over 2 million convenience stores and supermarkets nationwide that accept the iD or Visa touch payment system. Online shopping can also be used as a virtual prepaid card at Visa merchants, using only the balance of the ANA Pay card. Due to the nature of the card’s ability to be charged from miles and cash (credit cards and cash), they cannot be mixed together to form a single balance, so the charged balance is divided into two wallets within the ANA Pay app, and you actually swipe the screen to switch between them (they cannot be combined in a single transaction).
President Todoroki: “We have completed the framework of a world where people can live on miles” Kazuhiro Todoroki, President and Representative Director of ANA X, who took the stage at the announcement, expressed that “the framework of a world where people can live on miles” has been completed with the enhancement of ANA Pay functions. He emphasized that the ability to use small amounts of miles on a daily basis has greatly changed the presence of ANA Pay, making it a “more accessible loyalty program” in addition to the conventional “accumulate a lot of miles and redeem them for award tickets”. The ANA Group has long been promoting “a world where people can live on miles” and “the integration of functions through super-applications,” and I got the impression that all of this has now progressed at once.
© Source travel watch