# LINE Pay

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/line-pay
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [LINE Pay — official](https://line-pay.line.me/)

## Supported standards

This wallet supports the following visual-code standards:

- [`line-pay-qr`](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/line-pay-qr)

## Overview

**LINE Pay** is **the LINE messenger-embedded payment service**, originally launched **December 2014 by LINE Corporation (now LY Corporation)** — historically active in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Taiwan, Province of China report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TW), [Japan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JP)</sup>. **Significant 2025 milestone**: **LINE Pay terminated service in Japan on April 30, 2025** as LY Corporation consolidates payments into [PayPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paypay) (LY's other major payment subsidiary; LY Corp owns both PayPay + LINE Pay).

**LINE Pay remains active in Taiwan + Thailand**:
- **Taiwan (Q1 2025)**: **NT$2.03 trillion transaction volume + 13.1+ million users + 19.5+ million linked cards** — substantial scale + continued growth.
- **Thailand**: Active LINE Pay Thailand subsidiary integrated with Thai QR / PromptPay ecosystem.

## History

**December 2014 — LINE Pay launches in Japan** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Integrated within LINE messenger.

**2015-2018 — Pan-LINE-market expansion** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Japan, Taiwan, Thailand.

**2019 — PayPay JV announced** [[paypay-cro]]: SoftBank Group + Yahoo Japan + LINE consolidation; PayPay becomes primary Japanese payments brand.

**2021 — Z Holdings (Yahoo Japan + LINE) merge** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Corporate consolidation; LINE Pay + PayPay overlap.

**October 1, 2023 — Z Holdings renamed LY Corporation** [[lycorp]].

**Termination of LINE Pay Japan announced 2024** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: Service consolidation into PayPay.

**April 30, 2025 — LINE Pay Japan terminated** <sup>[1][1], [3][3]</sup>: Service ends; LINE Pay Balance refunded to users per Article 20-1 + Article 61-5 of Japan Payment Services Act.

**March 31, 2026 — Line Pay Corporation absorption merger** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: LY Corporation approves absorption-type merger of wholly-owned subsidiary Line Pay Corporation.

**Q1 2025 Taiwan — NT$2.03 trillion transaction volume + 13.1M users + 19.5M linked cards** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: Continued Taiwan scale.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entities** (per jurisdiction):
- **Japan**: LY Corporation operated until April 30, 2025 termination.
- **Taiwan**: **LINE Pay Taiwan Ltd** (active).
- **Thailand**: **LINE Pay Thailand** (active).

**Parent**: **LY Corporation** (formerly Z Holdings; merged Yahoo Japan + LINE 2021; renamed Oct 2023).

**Ultimate parent**: **SoftBank Group + NAVER Corporation** (Korean) — joint controlling shareholders of LY Corporation.

**Regulators**:
- **Taiwan**: **FSC** (Financial Supervisory Commission) — electronic payment institution license.
- **Thailand**: **Bank of Thailand (BOT)** — payment-service-provider license.

## Technical integration

LINE Pay is **LINE messenger-embedded payment service in Taiwan + Thailand** <sup>[4][4], [Taiwan, Province of China report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TW)</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Channel** | LINE messenger app (LINE Pay is integrated within LINE) |
| **Identifiers** | LINE ID + phone number + QR code + linked card |
| **Taiwan** | Integrated with **[TWQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/twqr)** (Taiwan national QR) |
| **Thailand** | Integrated with **[Thai QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/thai-qr)** / PromptPay |
| **Cross-border** | Limited intra-LINE-market interop |
| **Cards** | 19.5M+ linked cards in Taiwan |

## Users & growth

**Taiwan (Q1 2025)** <sup>[4][4]</sup>:
- **Transaction volume**: NT$2.03 trillion
- **Active users**: 13.1+ million (~55% of Taiwan's adult population)
- **Linked cards**: 19.5+ million

**Japan (pre-April 2025 termination)** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- 98M+ LINE messenger MAU in Japan (LINE itself); LINE Pay was integrated payment service.
- LINE Pay Japan service ended April 30, 2025; PayPay became primary LY payment offering in Japan.

**Thailand**: Active but specific user-count not widely reported.

## Use cases

**P2P transfers within LINE messenger (Taiwan + Thailand)** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: Cardinal — chat-embedded.

**Merchant QR payments** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: Taiwan via [TWQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/twqr), Thailand via [Thai QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/thai-qr).

**Online + in-app payments** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: LINE-ecosystem services.

**Card-linked payments** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: 19.5M+ Taiwan-linked cards.

**Bill payment** <sup>[Taiwan, Province of China report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TW)</sup>: Utilities + services.

**Refund of LINE Pay Balance (Japan, May 2025+)** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: Service-termination wind-down.

## Implementations & partners

**Operating entities**: LINE Pay Taiwan Ltd + LINE Pay Thailand + (Japan terminated).

**Parent**: **LY Corporation** + SoftBank Group + NAVER Corporation.

**Sister product**: **[PayPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paypay)** (LY Corporation's primary Japanese payment offering post-LINE-Pay-Japan termination).

**Regulators**: FSC Taiwan + BOT Thailand.

**Major Asian competitors**:
- Taiwan: **JKOPay, iPASS Money, Taiwan Pay**.
- Thailand: **TrueMoney, Rabbit LINE Pay** (a co-brand).
- Japan: **PayPay** (now LY's primary; previously competitor).

## Fun facts

- **Launched December 2014** as Japan's first major super-app embedded payment.
- **Terminated in Japan April 30, 2025** as LY Corporation consolidates payments into PayPay.
- **March 31, 2026 LINE Pay Corporation absorption merger** — final corporate wind-down step in Japan.
- **Taiwan + Thailand continue**: 13.1M Taiwan users + NT$2.03T transaction volume Q1 2025.
- **19.5M linked cards in Taiwan** — substantial card-linkage penetration.
- **LY Corporation owns BOTH PayPay + LINE Pay**: PayPay primary in Japan, LINE Pay primary in Taiwan + Thailand.
- **Z Holdings → LY Corporation rebrand (Oct 2023)** — corporate-identity shift reflecting LINE + Yahoo Japan merger.
- **Refund-driven Article 20-1 + Article 61-5 Payment Services Act compliance** for Japan termination — illustrates Japanese consumer-protection rigor.

## Comparison

| Feature | LINE Pay | [PayPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paypay) (LY's Japan-primary) | [TWQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/twqr) / Taiwan Pay | [Thai QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/thai-qr) / PromptPay | [KakaoPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/kakaopay) (KR analogous) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **LY Corp (terminated JP; active TW + TH)** | LY Corporation (Japan) | FISC Taiwan | BOT + Thai banks | Kakao Pay Corp. |
| Country (active) | **Taiwan + Thailand** | Japan | Taiwan | Thailand | South Korea |
| Embedded in | **LINE messenger** | Standalone PayPay app | National rail | National rail | KakaoTalk |
| Taiwan users | **13.1M (Q1 2025)** | n/a | All Taiwanese banks | n/a | n/a |
| Recent corporate event | **JP termination Apr 30, 2025** | Primary brand post-LINE-Pay-JP-term | n/a | n/a | KOSPI IPO Nov 2021 |

## Status

**Partial-discontinued (Japan terminated, Taiwan + Thailand active)** <sup>[1][1], [3][3], [4][4]</sup>:
- **Japan**: Service terminated April 30, 2025; LINE Pay Corporation absorption merger March 31, 2026.
- **Taiwan**: Active. 13.1M+ users, NT$2.03T transaction volume Q1 2025.
- **Thailand**: Active; Thai QR / PromptPay integrated.
- **Parent**: LY Corporation (SoftBank + NAVER joint control).

## Sources

[1]: https://www.lycorp.co.jp/en/news/release/008632/ "Termination of LINE Pay Service in Japan — LY Corporation"
[2]: https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/line-statistics/ "LINE Statistics 2026 — Expanded Ramblings"
[3]: https://medium.com/tokyo-fintech/line-pay-services-in-japan-will-be-terminated-by-april-30-2025-33bc03ac8242 "LINE Pay Japan termination — Tokyo FinTech"
[4]: https://www.fiisual.com/blog/post/2025/linepay-introduction "LINE Pay Taiwan Q1 2025 — Fiisual"
[5]: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/ly-corporation-to-absorb-line-pay-subsidiary-following-service-closure--1557941 "LY Corp absorbs LINE Pay subsidiary — Telecompaper"
[lycorp]: https://data.swcms.net/file/lycorp-ir/dam/jcr:1a49b860-7f10-4de7-bb56-627bbfba28c4/140120250502530051.pdf "LY Corporation FY25 results"
[paypay-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/standards/paypay-qr
[jp-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JP
[tw-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TW

- [1] [LINE Pay Japan termination — LY Corp][1]
- [2] [LINE Statistics — Expanded Ramblings][2]
- [3] [LINE Pay Japan termination — Tokyo FinTech][3]
- [4] [LINE Pay Taiwan Q1 2025 — Fiisual][4]
- [5] [LY absorbs LINE Pay — Telecompaper][5]
- [lycorp] [LY Corporation FY25 results][lycorp]
- <sup>[Japan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JP)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/JP-japan.md`
- <sup>[Taiwan, Province of China report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TW)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/TW-taiwan.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [line-pay.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/line-pay). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.