日本語 
TOPPAN Corporation , a group company of TOPPAN Holdings, and Infcurion Co., Ltd. have linked TOPPAN’s cashless payment platform for local governments, “Regional Pay®,” with Infcurion’s charge platform, “CharG,” and added a bank account charge function to “Regional Pay®.”
As the first step in this initiative, we are pleased to announce that we will begin providing this function to “KIHOCA,” the digital regional currency of Kihoku Town, Ehime Prefecture, which utilizes “Regional Pay®,” starting November 1, 2026. This will allow “KIHOCA” users to use “Bank Pay,” provided by the Japan Electronic Payment Promotion Organization, to charge their “KIHOCA app” online from bank accounts at financial institutions nationwide (369 banks at the start of service, with plans to expand sequentially). By creating an environment where charging is easy, we aim to encourage the daily use of digital regional currency and stimulate local consumption.
In recent years, with the aim of revitalizing local economies and promoting digital transformation (DX) in local governments, the introduction of digital local currencies and digital local development vouchers has been rapidly progressing in local governments across Japan.
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On the other hand, for local currencies to become established as a means of daily payment for residents and circulate within the community, rather than being limited to temporary event use, an easy way to charge and maintain the necessary balance at any time is essential. However, conventional dedicated charging machines and cash charging at counters have limitations in terms of installation location and time, and even when attempting to support online charging from bank accounts, the development burden and substantial operational costs associated with individual connections for each financial institution have been obstacles to adoption for local governments and operators.
Against this backdrop, TOPPAN and Infcurion have collaborated to create a system that allows for the easy implementation of bank account top-up functionality without significantly modifying existing digital regional currency platforms, by linking “Regional Pay®” and “CharG”.
As the first step, the system will be introduced to “KIHOCA,” the digital regional currency of Kihoku Town, Ehime Prefecture. Kihoku Town began operating “KIHOCA” in 2023 to support transportation for the elderly, and since September 2024, has expanded its usage to include shopping at participating stores within the town and the town’s point program, thereby increasing the number of users. With the addition of this online charging function, the town aims to further improve convenience for residents, stimulate local consumption, and ensure the sustainable operation of the regional currency.
Source: PRTimes
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