Japanese text and voice messaging app Line has hosted its Line Conference Tokyo 2014 at Maihama Amphitheatre to present its current and new business ventures. Line announced its plans for the future, as well as new strategic partnerships. The company seeks to become more integral to daily life by surpassing the boundaries between online and offline and offering a variety of new services and business ideas under the theme of ‘Life’.
Line plans to release ‘Line Pay’, a payment system for a variety of services this winter. Line Pay uses the Line app on iPhone or Android smartphones. Payment can be made by linking credit cards, paying at convenience stores, or by adding money beforehand with an account from an associated bank (Mizuho Bank or Sumitomo Mitsui Bank). Service uusers can split the purchase price of goods and services among their Line friends by using the “Share Payment” feature, or send money directly to a friend’s bank account without having to input their bank information by using the “Send Money” feature. With the “Withdrawal” feature, sent money can be withdrawn directly from the user’s bank account.
Three security measures will be available for the service: a separate password from Line to act as a secondary verification, fingerprint verification via Apple Touch ID (iPhone only) required to view the password, and compulsory smartphone verification to use the PC site. Planned for a winter release, payment options will be available first for Line and related web services and apps, with expansion into offline shops and other venues planned in the future.
Line Taxi will be offered in cooperation with Nihon Kotsu. Users will be able to call a taxi by using the Line Taxi official account from within the Line app. Taxis will be dispatched to a certain location based on GPS data or building info and payment can be made through Line Pay. The Tokyo-only version is planned for initial release this winter, with almost 3,300 of Nihon Kotsu’s taxis available through the service. A nationwide expansion is planned for the future.
The Line@ ID is a separate Line account that any user can make. Separate from the regular Line account, which was designed to offer a means of private communication between family members, friends, and classmates, this new type of account will offer communication options between a variety of users and customers. Both corporate and individual users can create an account, and multiple accounts can be held at once. By using the Line@ app (support for both Android and iOS planned) to obtain an ID, users may communicate and post information through the relevant app by sending messages to all their followers at once, using 1-to-1 chats, posting to their Home and Timeline, and more. The service is planned for commercial launch this year.
‘Line Maps for Indoor’ is a map application that specializes in navigating through commercial buildings such as shopping centers and department stores. By selecting the shop or restaurant that they wish to go to, users can see the optimal route from their current location to their desired destination. Service is planned to start in autumn 2014 for Android only, and at the time of release indoor maps for almost 40 locations in the Tokyo area will be available, including Shibuya Hikarie and Tokyo Midtown. Supported languages are Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, Japanese, and Korean.
Line Business Connect offers Line’s messaging feature through a company-oriented API, and allows each company to use their CRM base with Line. After receiving the consent of users, companies can link their existing databases and systems to user accounts and send optimized messages to individual users. The Line Business Connect Partner Program will allow partner companies who provide services for Line Business Connect to be recognized as official partners. Nine companies will be recognized as partners in a first stage.
Line’s game distribution platform Line Game has been built up around casual games such as LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum and LINE Rangers up until this point. Line Game will bring out the following series of titles starting from autumn 2014: Line Pop2 (Puzzle), Line Puzzle Trio (Puzzle), Line Chronicles of Albion (Strategy RPG), Line Legion of Heroes (Strategy RPG).
Line has established two new companies, one to be co-funded by Gree and one to be co-funded by Cyber Agent, to stimulate the development of global content. The first recipient for Line’s investment fund, the Line Game Global Gateway Limited Investment Partnership, established to invest in Japanese game development companies as well as other gaming content, will be Translimit.
The Line Music subscription-based music streaming service will be run by Line Music Inc., a company established through the triple investment of avex digital, Sony Music Entertainment, and Line Corporation. Planned for release this year, the three companies are currently in detailed negotiations concerning the establishment of Line Music Inc.
Line Official Blogs is a blog service for artists and celebrities. By creating a Line Official Blog, they will have access to all the capabilities and options to share information of a traditional blogging service in addition to the option to link the blog to Line’s communication services, such as Line official accounts, Line Mall, and Line Play. This will give artists and other celebrities the chance to conduct promotions and merchandising.
