Infcurion and TOPPAN Expand Cashless Reach Across Japanese Municipalities via Bank Pay Integration
Financial technology firm Infcurion and printing & digital solutions conglomerate TOPPAN have announced a platform integration, adding direct bank account charging capabilities to TOPPAN’s municipal cashless payment service, "Chiiki Pay®".
The new functionality links TOPPAN’s regional platform with Infcurion’s embedded top-up infrastructure, "CharG". The system saw its first commercial rollout on November 1, 2026, in Kihoku Town, Ehime Prefecture, for its local digital currency, "KIHOCA".
Through an integration with the Japan Electronic Payment Promotion Organization’s "Bank Pay" network, registered KIHOCA app users will be able to transfer funds directly from accounts across 369 financial institutions nationwide at launch, with additional participating banks expected over time.
The move addresses a persistent structural bottleneck in Japan’s municipal digital transformation (DX) initiatives. While local governments have increasingly deployed regional digital currencies to stimulate consumer spending, circulation has often been hindered by top-up logistics. Traditional implementations have relied heavily on physical cash kiosks or municipal counter terminals with limited operating hours, while building standalone bank API connections has historically proved cost-prohibitive for local administrations.
Under the joint framework, Infcurion manages direct bank contracts, security auditing, and connection testing, allowing local governments to implement account-linked charging without overhaul to their existing Chiiki Pay® architectures.
Kihoku Town originally introduced KIHOCA in 2023 to provide transportation support for elderly residents before expanding the platform in September 2024 to support local retail merchants and civic reward points. Looking ahead, TOPPAN has targeted deploying its Chiiki Pay® system across 170 local governments throughout Japan by fiscal year 2026, positioning the integrated bank-charging capability as a key lever to drive consistent digital transaction volume.
Norbert Gehrke
