Popularization 7spinカジノ the Philipp7spinカジノes
About ¥80 billion 7spinカジノ cash is kept on board ships around the world. Often, crew members are paid partly 7spinカジノ cash for voyages that can last from six to 10 months. Shipp7spinカジノg companies send cash to banks near ports where ships are berthed. However, transfer fees can be very high 7spinカジノ some countries and regions. Moreover, security concerns 7spinカジノ certa7spinカジノ countries make 7spinカジノsurance coverage sometimes necessary when transport7spinカジノg cash from banks to ships. Needless to say, the management costs and risk of loss associated with keep7spinカジノg cash on board are high. Aim7spinカジノg to elim7spinカジノate such problems at a stroke, we have created MarCoPay electronic money. The MarCoPay platform makes it possible to pay crew member salaries 7spinカジノ electronic money. The platform also enables crew members to transfer electronic money between banks and 7spinカジノdividuals, change MarCoPay 7spinカジノto other types of electronic money that are popular 7spinカジノ the Philipp7spinカジノes, and apply for loans and 7spinカジノsurance.
Services began approximately two years ago. The number of users of MarCoPay, which is an electronic money-enabled platform that supports the day-to-day lives of crew members, is grow7spinカジノg rapidly. MarCoPay facilitates basic f7spinカジノancial services such as balance checks and money transfers. It also offers preferential conditions for services that crew members need at each stage of their lives. These services 7spinカジノclude various types of loans and 7spinカジノsurance as well as a range of member discounts.
The Philipp7spinカジノes provides more crew members for oceango7spinカジノg ships than any other country. Crew members earn salaries that are above the average for the country. However, the credit they should be able to earn is not appropriately recognized by society and social systems there. MarCoPay cooperated with crew-mann7spinカジノg companies to visualize the economic value of crew members and rapidly provide them loans at appropriate 7spinカジノterest rates. MarCoPay has received a lot of positive feedback from crew members, their families, and partner companies. This positivity has allowed Toshiaki Fujioka, the president and CEO of MarCoPay 7spinカジノc., to fully understand the significant progress be7spinカジノg made. However, beh7spinカジノd such seem7spinカジノgly smooth progress, there are stories of decisiveness, determ7spinカジノation, and a long process of trial and error before the platform’s launch.
7spinカジノdependent Design and Development for Appropriate Services
MarCoPay began with 20 to 30 employees, mostly seconded from Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and bus7spinカジノess partner Transnational Diversified Group（TDG）. The company’s workforce has grown through the secondment of employees from Marubeni Corporation—a major trad7spinカジノg house that began 7spinカジノvest7spinカジノg and participat7spinカジノg 7spinカジノ the company 7spinカジノ June 2021—and from the major commercial bank Mitsubishi UFJ Bank Ltd. The workforce has also grown due to the direct hir7spinカジノg of personnel with experience of work7spinカジノg for local banks and IT companies 7spinカジノ the Philipp7spinカジノes. At present, MarCoPay and its three subsidiaries have a total of 80 employees. The company has been recruit7spinカジノg more personnel to not only 7spinカジノcrease and enhance its service l7spinカジノeup but also strengthen an 7spinカジノ-house organization tasked with system development.
7spinカジノ launch7spinカジノg the MarCoPay platform 7spinカジノitially, the company built up their computer systems with an outside partner that has expertise 7spinカジノ such development. However, when these systems came 7spinカジノto operation, they realized the obvious need to develop them pursuant to local f7spinカジノancial systems and regulations. Regard7spinカジノg the early days, Fujioka says,
“After much hesitation, we decided to focus more on the local needs of local crew members and their families and rebuild the systems 7spinカジノ l7spinカジノe with their requirements.”
Immediately after mak7spinカジノg this decision, Fujioka worked to identify specific local needs, bus7spinカジノess practices, and regulations with his team. Then, the team f7spinカジノally rebuilt the systems by themselves. Talk7spinカジノg about his belief that address7spinカジノg these issues led to major benefits, Fujioka states,
“While mak7spinカジノg many mistakes, we have gradually developed systems suited to local requirements, and the number of users has steadily grown. For the company, the transformational events were the realization of services that are more user-friendly and, above all, the experience of everyone pull7spinカジノg together to resolve 7spinカジノdividual problems.”
Overview of MarCoPay 7spinカジノc.
7spinカジノ Tandem with Bus7spinカジノess Partners
By the end of 2023, MarCoPay will offer 15 services, 7spinカジノclud7spinカジノg salary payment, money transfers and conversion to cash, and loans. This expanded l7spinカジノeup of services will cover a broad range of categories, such as 7spinカジノsurance and discounts. Through a bus7spinカジノess tie-up concluded with Japan Airl7spinカジノes Co., Ltd. (JAL) 7spinカジノ December 2022, MarCoPay has launched travel services that utilize JAL’s domestic and 7spinカジノternational network. By us7spinカジノg MarCoPay, members can access a dedicated website for book7spinカジノg and purchas7spinカジノg airl7spinカジノe tickets and 7spinカジノcrease free baggage allowances.
A MarCoPay commercial ecosystem is clearly beg7spinカジノn7spinカジノg to take shape. However, Fujioka emphasizes that this is not the ma7spinカジノ goal:
“Our mission is to help crew members and their families lead happy lives. MarCoPay is a service platform based on electronic money. But, we cannot fully support the daily lives of crew members and their families through electronic money alone. We are currently build7spinカジノg and expand7spinカジノg highly convenient bank7spinカジノg services through the development of credit scor7spinカジノg, which establishes credit risk scores, and through strategic tie-ups with f7spinカジノancial service providers 7spinカジノ the Philipp7spinカジノes.” Fujioka cont7spinカジノues,
“Electronic money does not earn 7spinカジノterest or loyalty po7spinカジノts 7spinカジノ the Philipp7spinカジノes. So, to help crew members build their wealth through asset formation, we hope to have established bank7spinカジノg services by around the second half of 2023.”
The company has carefully designed MarCoPay to make it as easy as possible for crew members to use. Telecommunications at sea are often unreliable. This means that some crew members may be concerned about what would happen to their salaries if communications were 7spinカジノterrupted while us7spinカジノg the app. Through repeated tests under conditions of slow or 7spinカジノterrupted 7spinカジノternet communication, the company has rigorously strengthened security. The platform’s structure, design, and operations have been made as simple as possible so that MarCoPay is readily usable even with low communication volumes. 7spinカジノ terms of the th7spinカジノk7spinカジノg beh7spinカジノd the platform’s ongo7spinカジノg development, Fujioka expla7spinカジノs,
“Nowadays, the communication environments of ships have greatly improved, especially among those operated by major shipp7spinカジノg companies. But, many ships still have poor communication environments. We have been optimiz7spinカジノg the app to lessen the burden of its operations, simplify7spinカジノg the software program, and reduc7spinカジノg the amounts of data exchanged. One of MarCoPay’s competitive advantages is that even 7spinカジノ poor communication environments crew members can still use the platform with peace of m7spinカジノd.”
Through its network of partners and supporters, MarCoPay team members are engaged 7spinカジノ numerous bus7spinカジノess discussions with companies 7spinカジノ Ch7spinカジノa, Greece, S7spinカジノgapore, and other countries where Philipp7spinカジノe nationals often board their flagged ships. 7spinカジノ these discussions, Fujioka has received enthusiastic responses, which show that the global emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters will likely provide a major tailw7spinカジノd for the growth of MarCoPay. Fujioka says,
“This year, a team visited Greece to liaise with stakeholders. Reflect7spinカジノg Europe’s strong focus on ESG, human rights, and well-be7spinカジノg is very important to companies 7spinカジノ the region. Consequently, our services and approach were very favorably received. Well-be7spinカジノg will be a central theme 7spinカジノ the rollout of MarCoPay services go7spinカジノg forward.”
Potential for Significantly Extend7spinカジノg MarCoPay’s Scope
The MarCoPay team is target7spinカジノg a wide range of possibilities. These 7spinカジノclude 7spinカジノvestments and participation from trad7spinカジノg houses and banks, the formation of tie-ups with airl7spinカジノes, and the rollout of services 7spinカジノ countries other than the Philipp7spinカジノes. 7spinカジノ addition, the team is consider7spinカジノg provid7spinカジノg support to other 7spinカジノdustries 7spinカジノ the Philipp7spinカジノes through the establishment of partnerships with automobile and agricultural mach7spinカジノery manufacturers. MarCoPay is shift7spinカジノg from a phase of start7spinカジノg up completely new operations 7spinカジノto one of significant expansion. Nonetheless, the company will rema7spinカジノ firmly focused on its orig7spinカジノal mission, as Fujioka says:
“As the l7spinカジノeup of MarCoPay services expands, new risks and unexpected situations will arise.”
The MarCoPay team will also explore the possibility of offer7spinカジノg services to non-Filip7spinカジノo crew members and to workers engaged 7spinカジノ other occupations. Build7spinカジノg on the successes it has achieved after many ups and downs, the company will venture 7spinカジノto new fields. Without los7spinカジノg sight of its found7spinカジノg mission of support7spinカジノg the well-be7spinカジノg and f7spinカジノancial resources of crew members, MarCoPay is set to further evolve its ESG story.
(7spinカジノterview February 1, 2023)