# Mercari + Merpay

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

Specifications:
- [Mercari — official](https://www.mercari.com/jp/)

## Overview

**Mercari + Merpay** is **Japan's #1 C2C marketplace + integrated mobile wallet** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Japan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JP)</sup>. **2025 baseline**:
- **Mercari monthly users**: **23 million** (60% are 18-35 years old; distinctive young-Japanese demographic)
- **Merpay monthly users**: **15-18 million** (Merpay = mobile wallet integrated within Mercari app)

**Distinctive Mercari + Merpay model** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- **C2C marketplace** (Mercari since 2013) — Japan's largest peer-to-peer second-hand-goods marketplace
- **Merpay launched February 2019** as digital wallet to spend Mercari sales proceeds + charge from bank + deferred payments (BNPL "Merpay Paylater") within Mercari app
- **Merpay widely accepted at convenience stores + restaurants + drug stores + various retail nationwide**

**March 2025 — Mercari Mobile MVNO launch** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: Mercari Mobile MVNO service — distinctive C2C-marketplace + mobile-carrier vertical integration.

**February 2025 — Mercari Japan pay-per-click display advertising launch** <sup>[5][5]</sup>: New monetization stream for Mercari.

## History

**February 2013 — Mercari founded** <sup>[3][3]</sup> by **Shintaro Yamada (CEO) + Tommy Tomishima + Ryo Ishizuka** in Tokyo.

**2014 — US Mercari launches** (separate scaling; later refocused on Japan).

**February 2019 — Merpay launches** <sup>[3][3]</sup> as Mercari's integrated mobile wallet within Mercari app.

**2020-2024 — Mass Japanese adoption** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Merpay 15-18M monthly users; Mercari 23M monthly users.

**February 2025 — Mercari Japan PPC display advertising** <sup>[5][5]</sup>.

**March 2025 — Mercari Mobile MVNO launch** <sup>[4][4]</sup>.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Mercari, Inc.** + **Merpay, Inc.** (Mercari subsidiary).

**Founder + CEO**: **Shintaro Yamada** (Mercari founder + CEO).

**Listing**: **Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market (TSE: 4385)** — Mercari publicly listed.

**Major investors**: Yamada + Tomishima + Ishizuka + institutional public-float (TSE: 4385).

**Regulators**: **FSA (Financial Services Agency Japan)** + **BoJ (Bank of Japan)**.

## Technical integration

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Channels** | Mercari mobile app (iOS + Android) — Merpay wallet integrated within Mercari app + merchant QR + Merpay Paylater (BNPL) |
| **Identifiers** | Phone + Mercari ID + bank account |
| **JP rail** | **[JPQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/jpqr)** (Japan national QR) |
| **Sub-products** | Mercari C2C marketplace + Merpay wallet + Merpay Paylater (BNPL) + Mercari Mobile MVNO (Mar 2025+) + Mercari PPC display advertising (Feb 2025+) |
| **Mercari marketplace integration** | Spend Mercari sales proceeds directly in Merpay |
| **Merpay acceptance** | Convenience stores + restaurants + drug stores + various JP retail nationwide |
| **License** | Prepaid Payment Instrument + Lending Business (Merpay; FSA + BoJ) |

## Users & growth

**2025 baseline** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- **Mercari monthly users**: 23 million (60% are 18-35 years old)
- **Merpay monthly users**: 15-18 million
- **2025 milestones**: Mercari Mobile MVNO (Mar 2025) + Mercari PPC display ads (Feb 2025)

## Use cases

Japanese C2C marketplace + mobile wallet integrated within Mercari app; spend Mercari sales proceeds directly in Merpay (closed-loop e-commerce-to-wallet); Merpay merchant payments at convenience stores + restaurants + drug stores + retail nationwide; Merpay Paylater BNPL; Mercari Mobile MVNO mobile-carrier service (Mar 2025+); Mercari PPC display advertising for sellers (Feb 2025+).

## Implementations & partners

**Operator**: **Mercari, Inc.** + **Merpay, Inc.** (Mercari subsidiary).

**Founder + CEO**: **Shintaro Yamada**.

**Listing**: **TSE: 4385**.

**Major Japanese mobile-payment competitors**:
- **[PayPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paypay)** (Japan's #1 QR wallet; 70M users; SoftBank + LY Corporation)
- **[d払い (d Barai)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/d-barai)** (NTT Docomo; 60M+ registered users)
- **[Rakuten Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/rakuten-pay)** (Rakuten Group; 44M users)
- **[au PAY](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/au-pay)** (KDDI; ~31.6M members)
- **[LINE Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/line-pay)** (Batch 2 covered; LY Corporation)

**Major Japanese C2C-marketplace competitors**:
- **Yahoo Auctions (LY Corporation)**
- **Rakuma (Rakuten Group)**
- **PayPay Flea Market (PayPay sister)**

**Regulators**: **FSA + BoJ**.

## Fun facts

- **2013 Mercari founding by Shintaro Yamada** — Japan's largest C2C marketplace.
- **Mercari monthly users**: **23 million** (60% are 18-35 years old; distinctive young-Japanese demographic).
- **Merpay monthly users**: **15-18 million** (mobile wallet integrated within Mercari app).
- **February 2019 Merpay launch** — wallet integration enabling closed-loop Mercari-sales-to-spending model.
- **March 2025 Mercari Mobile MVNO launch** — distinctive C2C-marketplace + mobile-carrier vertical integration.
- **February 2025 Mercari PPC display advertising launch** — new monetization stream.
- **Merpay Paylater BNPL**.
- **TSE: 4385** publicly listed.

## Comparison

| Feature | Mercari + Merpay | [PayPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paypay) (JP #1 QR wallet rival) | [Rakuten Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/rakuten-pay) (JP wallet + crypto rival) | [d払い (d Barai)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/d-barai) (NTT Docomo rival) | Yahoo Auctions (LY Corporation; JP C2C marketplace rival) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **Mercari, Inc. + Merpay, Inc.; Shintaro Yamada founder + CEO; TSE: 4385** | PayPay Corporation (SoftBank + LY Corporation 50/50) | Rakuten Payment Inc. (Rakuten Group TSE: 4755) | NTT Docomo | LY Corporation |
| Type | **JP #1 C2C marketplace + Merpay integrated mobile wallet + Mercari Mobile MVNO** | JP #1 QR-code payment app + super-app financial services | JP wallet + Rakuten Group loyalty + Rakuten Wallet crypto (XRP) | NTT Docomo mobile wallet + carrier-bill integration | JP C2C auction-marketplace pioneer |
| Country | Japan | Japan | Japan | Japan | Japan |
| Users | **Mercari 23M monthly + Merpay 15-18M monthly** | 70M registered | 44M | 60M+ | Major JP C2C |
| Distinctive | **2013 Mercari + 2019 Merpay launch; spend Mercari sales proceeds in Merpay; Mar 2025 Mercari Mobile MVNO; Feb 2025 PPC display ads; 60% Mercari users 18-35 years old** | JP #1 QR wallet; Dec 2025 US ADR IPO target | XRP integration Apr 2026; Rakuten Points 3T+ convertible | NTT Docomo carrier-billing + d Point Club | LY Corporation C2C auction heritage |

## Status

**Active, Japan's #1 C2C marketplace + integrated Merpay mobile wallet** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- **Mercari, Inc. + Merpay, Inc. (Shintaro Yamada founder + CEO; TSE: 4385)** — Mercari since 2013, Merpay since Feb 2019.
- **Mercari 23M monthly users + Merpay 15-18M monthly users**.
- **2025 strategic milestones**: Mar 2025 Mercari Mobile MVNO + Feb 2025 PPC display ads.
- **60% of Mercari users 18-35 years old** — distinctive young-Japanese demographic.
- **FSA + BoJ regulated**.

## Sources

[1]: https://closo.co/blogs/blog/the-real-mercari-guide-japan-imports-seller-fees-and-avoiding-scams-in-2026 "Real Mercari Guide 2026 — CLOSO"
[2]: https://en.komoju.com/blog/payment-method/merpay/ "Merpay seamless digital payments — KOMOJU"
[3]: https://docs.antom.com/ac/antomop/merpay "Merpay supported payment methods — Antom Docs"
[4]: https://about.mercari.com/en/press/news/articles/20250304_mercarimobile/ "Mercari Mobile MVNO launch Mar 2025 — Mercari press"
[5]: https://aimgroup.com/2025/02/10/mercari-japan-introduces-pay-per-click-display-advertising/ "Mercari PPC display ads Feb 2025 — AIM Group"
[jp-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JP

- [1] [Real Mercari Guide 2026 — CLOSO][1]
- [2] [Merpay seamless digital payments — KOMOJU][2]
- [3] [Merpay supported payment methods — Antom Docs][3]
- [4] [Mercari Mobile MVNO launch — Mercari press][4]
- [5] [Mercari PPC display ads — AIM Group][5]
- <sup>[Japan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JP)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/JP-japan.md`

## Source

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