www.WirelessFederation.com/news: NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that the number of subscribers to DCMX(TM), DOCOMO’s credit payment service, topped 10 million in Japan on August 24.

Launched in April 2006, DCMX reached 1 million subscribers in November 2006, 5 million in February 2008 and 10 million, just three years and four months since the original launch.

DCMX is a service brand for DOCOMO-issued credit cards, which allows subscribers to make purchases using their mobile phones as credit cards via iD(TM), DOCOMO’s branded mobile payment platform for handsets equipped with contactless IC cards (Osaifu-Keitai(TM)). For security, DOCOMO’s Osaifu-Keitai phones can be locked remotely over the wireless network if misplaced or stolen.

The rapid penetration of DCMX was helped by the popularization of Osaifu-Keitai and iD reader/writer terminals as well as its customer loyalty program. Currently, over 30 million DOCOMO customers use Osaifu-Keitai-compatible handsets and about 60% of all DOCOMO customers are using Osaifu-Keitai services. As of July 31, 2009, there were approximately 420,000 iD readers/writers nationwide. iD is now used in various settings in daily life, such as shopping at convenience stores and electronics retailers, eating at fast food restaurants and taking taxis. (more…)