Mobile Suica signs up 120,000 train commuters

According to Japan's train operator JR East, the subscriber base of Mobile Suica service reached 120,000 train commuters at the end of September. Launched in January 2006, Mobile Suica allows Tokyo commuters to board trains by waving their phones over a sensor in turnstiles. In addition to mobiles, JR East sells Suica contactless cards, which are also good for making small purchases at participating stores near train stations. The total number of issued Suica cards at the end of September was reported to be about 17.75 million, among which 13.84 million cards were enabled for making purchases. The popularity of Suica ticketing and e-money service is rapidly spreading across the region, recruiting more merchants and becoming compatible with other e-money services such as Edy and iD that are offered on cell phones as well. At the end of September, there were 9,000 participating points of sale that were accepting payments through Suica.
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