
TOKYO -- Chat app operator Line and online secondhand marketplace Mercari have joined forces, the two companies said Wednesday, in the latest twist in the battle for dominance in Japan's cashless payment service.
Users of the two companies' apps will be able to make payments using Quick Response or QR codes at either company's affiliated stores, starting this summer. The companies hope their initiative will catalyze the consolidation of various types of QR code-based payment systems that have proliferated in recent months.