Japan to introduce cashless traffic fine payments from July

The National Police Agency plans to introduce cashless payments for minor traffic violations from July 2027, allowing offenders, including cyclists, to pay fines by credit card, smartphone payment services or other cashless means, agency officials said Thursday.

The system will be rolled out nationwide in phases. The agency will solicit bids for a contractor to handle payment processing and system operations and select one by the end of the year at the earliest.

Fines are currently payable only at bank or post office counters, which are unavailable outside business hours. The agency has been considering the introduction of cashless payments to improve convenience for offenders and ease the burden on financial institutions as the government promotes the digitalization of administrative procedures.

Under the planned system, traffic violation notices, known as blue tickets, will carry QR codes that link users to a payment website when scanned with a smartphone or other device.

Offenders will enter information written by hand on the notices, including the amount due, select a payment method and complete the transaction. They will receive confirmation by email or other means.

Payment options are expected to include cashless payment apps, convenience store payment services and internet banking. Offenders will pay a processing fee of several hundred yen per transaction.

In-person payments at bank and post office counters, which carry no fee, will remain available.

The companies selected to operate the system will cover their operating costs and generate revenue from the transaction fees. The arrangement will therefore impose no additional financial burden on the police or reduce the amount of fines collected.

Companies will be selected through a competitive bidding process, taking into account factors such as the level of transaction fees and the variety of payment methods offered.

Since June 2021, the NPA has been conducting a trial program in Akita and Shimane prefectures that allows traffic fines to be paid by bank transfer through internet banking or ATMs. The utilization rate reached 14.6% last year. The agency aims to increase the rate by expanding the available payment options.

Revenue from traffic fines is first transferred to the state coffers and then distributed to local governments as special grants for traffic safety measures. The funds are used for purposes such as installing road signs. In fiscal 2025, approximately 3.85 million cases of traffic fines were issued, totaling around ¥38 billion.