Rakuten to allow XRP to be used as payment method by its 44 million customers

Rakuten Pay users will also be able to spot trade XRP via the Rakuten Pay app and exchange the Japanese e-commerce giant’s points to purchase Ripple’s token

What to know:

• Rakuten is adding XRP to its Rakuten Pay app, letting 44 million users spend Ripple’s cryptocurrency at more than 5 million merchant locations across Japan.
• Starting April 15, users will be able to buy XRP with Rakuten Points, spot trade it in the app and hold it in their Rakuten Wallet, integrating the token into one of Japan’s largest loyalty systems.
• The move follows Rakuten’s earlier support for bitcoin, ether and bitcoin cash and is being hailed by a Ripple executive as a major milestone for broader digital asset adoption.

Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten is adding XRP to its Rakuten Pay app, allowing its 44 million users to use Ripple’s cryptocurrency as a payment method with more than 5 million merchant locations across the country.

In an announcement via X on Tuesday, Tatsuya Kohrogi, Ripple’s senior ecosystem growth manager, said Rakuten is also enabling its users to spot trade XRP via the app. He said they will also be able to purchase XRP with Rakuten points and hold it in their Rakuten Wallet.

The move ties XRP into one of Japan’s largest loyalty systems, where more than 3 trillion points—worth roughly $23 billion—are in circulation and can now be converted into XRP, Kohrogi said.

“Starting April 15, Rakuten Wallet will launch XRP as both a listed asset and a payment method, meaning users can buy XRP directly with Rakuten Points and charge their Rakuten Cash with XRP to spend it at over 5 million merchant locations across Japan,” Kohrogi said, calling the development “one of the most significant XRP milestones.”

The Ripple executive also said Rakuten is one of Japan's most trusted consumer brands. “The fact that XRP is now embedded into its loyalty and payments infrastructure is a powerful signal of where digital asset adoption is heading,” he added.

Rakuten began allowing users to spend bitcoin, ether and bitcoin cash in 2023. In 2021, the Japanese e-commerce giant announced the launch of its own Rakuten Coin, a token it said would be used as part of its points-based loyalty rewards system.

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