OSAKA (TR) – One week after credit card payment processing firm Zentoshin collapsed under a staggering 100 billion yen in debt, restaurants across Japan are scrambling to survive after having their financial “lifelines” abruptly severed, reports TBS News (July 13).
Zentoshin had experienced rapid growth by offering a highly appealing service to merchants: advancing credit card sales to businesses in as little as five days, bypassing the standard month-long wait typically required by major credit card companies.
For many business owners, the massive bankruptcy came completely without warning, leaving them unable to process payments or access their hard-earned sales.
“A single sheet of paper arrived announcing the bankruptcy filing, but other than that, we received absolutely zero information,” said Yoshiaki Shino, owner of the restaurant Maguro Dining Yamato.
With cashless payments now essential for everyday business, rival payment platforms are rushing to capitalize on the chaos and offer emergency services. Firms are fielding a flood of desperate calls from former Zentoshin clients, launching transition campaigns and promising to restore card settlements and transfer funds within days.
Shinnosuke Io, a general manager at payment platform STORES, noted the sheer volume of distressed businesses seeking a way out of the crisis.
“The cashless payment rate nationwide has surpassed 58 percent, meaning more than half of customers want to use credit cards or some form of digital payment,” Io said. “We are currently receiving four to five times our usual number of inquiries and consultations.”
With consumer reliance on digital payments at an all-time high, the fallout from Zentoshin’s sudden disappearance has become a matter of “life and death” for the food service industry, prompting a frantic race to restore operations before vulnerable businesses go under.
