Link Processing and Epos Card Forge Alliance to Digitize B2B Payments, Targeting SME Liquidity with New Invoice-to-Card Service

Link Processing, a subsidiary of Infcurion, has entered a business alliance with credit card issuer Epos Card to address the liquidity constraints and digital stagnation facing Japan’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The partnership will offer a "Corporate Invoice Card Payment" service to Epos Card’s corporate holders, a solution designed to shift traditional bank transfer payments onto credit card networks, thereby extending working capital buffers for businesses.

Easing the Cash Flow Crunch

The initiative comes at a critical juncture for the Japanese financial ecosystem. According to Infcurion’s "Business Payment Comprehensive Survey 2025," nearly a quarter of small businesses (1–20 employees) still rely on analog payment methods, such as ATM or bank counter transfers. However, demand for modernization is high, with approximately 50% of businesses expressing a desire for digital invoice operations.

The service is also positioned as a response to the "Act on Rationalization of Subcontracting Transactions for Small and Medium Enterprises," which came into force on January 1, 2026. The new regulation places stricter demands on contracting companies to ensure timely payments to subcontractors. For industries with long cash conversion cycles—such as construction, logistics, and wholesale—maintaining liquidity while adhering to strict payment deadlines is a significant operational challenge.

By converting bank transfer invoices into card payments, this new scheme allows businesses to extend their actual cash outflow by up to 60 days, providing vital breathing room for cash flow management. Notably, the service also supports the payment of social insurance premiums—traditionally a cash-only transaction—allowing for centralized expense management.

Strategic Synergy

The alliance leverages the distinct strengths of both firms to overcome the barriers issuers face when building B2B payment solutions solo:

• Epos Card (The Issuer): Provides its established corporate card member base and handles marketing and user acquisition.
• Link Processing (The Enabler): Utilizes its "LP Invoice Card Pay" platform to handle the entire backend, from scheme design and system provision to operational execution.

This structure allows Epos Card to deploy value-added services rapidly without the capital expenditure of building a proprietary payment infrastructure from scratch.

Key Service Features

The "LP Invoice Card Pay" service brings several competitive advantages to the market:

• Competitive Pricing: A fee structure set at 2.95% (non-taxable), aimed at supporting SME profitability.
• Speed: fast execution with potential for same-day transfers, utilizing existing cards without requiring new credit screenings.
• Compliance & DX: Facilitates the digital transformation (DX) of accounting departments by moving paper-based and counter-based payments to a digital dashboard.

About the Companies

Link Processing is a fintech enabler providing end-to-end payment platforms, including the "Anywhere" series of payment terminals. It boasts a track record of over 5,000 corporate clients and processes over 57 million transactions annually.

Infcurion (Parent Company) is a leading payments innovator in Japan, focused on embedding financial functions into every industry (Embedded Finance).

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Japan FinTech ObserverNorbert Gehrke