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Rakuten Wallet has enabled XRP spending through the Rakuten Pay network, allowing users to convert Rakuten Points into XRP and use it at more than 5 million merchant locations across Japan.
Rakuten Wallet now lets users convert Rakuten Points, the loyalty currency widely used by Japanese consumers, directly into XRP. Once converted, users can trade XRP, hold it, or spend it.
The wallet also supports charging Rakuten Cash, which can then be used to pay at participating merchants. Rakuten says merchants that already accept Rakuten Pay do not need to take any additional steps, as the conversion is handled on the back end. For consumers, the process is designed to be seamless, turning loyalty rewards accumulated from purchases into a cryptocurrency that can be used for payments.
Japan has maintained a relatively advanced regulatory framework for crypto, including recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender in 2017 and requiring exchanges to operate under licensing rules. Rakuten Wallet holds one of those licenses, and the company’s rollout is tied to its existing payment infrastructure rather than a standalone token feature.
Rakuten Pay’s merchant coverage spans both physical and online retail, and Rakuten Points are already embedded in consumer spending habits. By linking those points to XRP and then to payments, the integration creates a direct path from loyalty rewards to real-world transactions.
In practical terms, users can open the Rakuten Wallet app, convert Rakuten Points into XRP, and then choose to trade XRP within the platform, send it elsewhere, or charge Rakuten Cash to spend at participating locations.
The app also supports direct XRP trading, enabling users to buy, sell, or hold XRP from within the same service.
Rakuten’s move could encourage other Japanese platforms to explore similar integrations, particularly as competition in e-commerce and fintech continues. The rollout is described as still expanding, with user feedback and merchant data not yet fully available.
Rakuten Wallet indicated that additional updates are expected as the service grows, though specific details on future changes were not provided in the source content.
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