MynaPoints…Mystery of OK to grant to cashless payment in someone else’s name.

Acquisition of points is possible even for payment services other than the person himself/herself.

After Digital Minister Taro Kono announced that the current health insurance card would be abolished in the fall of 2024 and replaced by a my number card, an increasing number of people, especially the elderly, began to apply for the card. A certain number of people have probably decided to apply for a my number card while they can still get mynapoints if they can no longer use their health insurance card.

By the way, is there any way for those who do not have a smartphone and do not use cashless payment services to receive mynar points?

We asked the my number card counter at the nearest ward office.

It is possible to receive points from a cashless payment service under someone else’s name, but only one person can receive points per payment service. However, since only one person can be linked to one payment service, it is necessary to use different payment services if you want to apply for Mynar points for your children. For more information, please ask at the toll-free number for my number,” said the person in charge.

When we contacted the toll-free number as instructed, the person in charge explained, “You can apply for the service in a payment service other than your own name, but I think each payment service provider will decide whether to grant points or not.

The government “is not obligated to confirm whether or not the application agent is the legal representative of the applicant.”

What? You can do that? Many people may be surprised. This is because it is usually thought that the Mynar Point application cannot be made unless the Mynar Number card and the nominee for the payment service are the same.

The website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) for the mynaporepoint business also states as follows.

You cannot apply using another person’s payment service. Please apply for the service in your own name.

However, if a legal representative applies on behalf of the applicant for unavoidable reasons, such as if the applicant is unable to apply in person, the legal representative can apply for Minerpoint using the payment service of the legal representative.

This means, for example, that in order to apply for mynar points on behalf of an elderly parent, grandparent, or other family member at his/her own settlement service, he/she would have to be a legal representative (i.e., an adult guardian). Most people would judge that it is not possible.

However, if you think about it carefully, a question arises. How do you know whether or not a person who has applied for Mynar Point on behalf of the principal for a payment service that is not in the principal’s name is a legal representative?

Therefore, we made a written inquiry to the Organization of Local Public Entities Information System, which is responsible for issuing my number card and developing and operating various systems for the my number system. Then, the My Number Point Policy Promotion Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications sent an answer by e-mail.

Question《I heard that it is possible to apply for mynaporepoints through a payment service that is not in the applicant’s name, but that points may not be awarded depending on the payment service provider. Do the settlement service providers determine whether the applicant is a legal representative or not, and accordingly, do they differ in their responses?

Answer《In the “Terms of Service” from the beginning of the system, it has been possible to apply for the settlement service held by a legal representative. In the case where a legal representative is acting on behalf of an applicant, the government is not obliged to confirm whether the application agent is the applicant’s legal representative or not.

Although the “Terms and Conditions” specify that the applicant is a legal representative, it is likely that the applicant will not actually be checked whether or not he/she is a legal representative and can obtain myna-points for his/her family members through the settlement service in his/her own name. Unless the payment service provider confirms and rejects the request.

Consumer Affairs Agency calls attention to “mynaporepoints scam”.

That being said, upon investigation, I found that an unnamed payment service under no one’s name can also be used to apply for myna-points.

The acquaintance applied for his elderly mother’s Myna Point using her WAON card, which can be held without membership registration. The WAON card used was a no-name prepaid electronic money.

To confirm this, we asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Minerpoint Promotion Office, “I heard that it is possible to apply for Minerpoints even for a bearer settlement service, but is this information on the website?

《There is no section that explicitly states that applications can be made for no-name payment services, but we have not prohibited no-name cards from the beginning of the system.》

This is a roundabout explanation, but the point is that it is possible to apply even for no-name payment services.

However, the response from the promotion office also included the following statement: “However, as a system, we do not prohibit no-name cards.

However, the system requires that the application be made through a payment service owned by the applicant or his/her legal representative, even if the application is for an unregistered card.

Kenji Matsuoka, a money writer who is familiar with the my number card, spoke on this matter.

When we look at the list of settlement services on the website of the Mynapoint business, there seem to be quite a few prepaid electronic money services. Among them, there are probably quite a few e-money services that do not require membership registration.

There must be quite a few elderly people, especially in rural areas, who do not have credit cards and do not use smartphones or e-money. Prepaid card-type electronic money that can be used without a name is a remedy for such people who have no connection to cashless payment services.

Still, I must say that the government’s approach of not plugging the holes where fraudulent use can occur and leaving it to the vendors and local governments to deal with the situation is irresponsible.

Certainly, if unregistered prepaid cards can be used to apply for MyNaPoints, there is a good chance that some unscrupulous people will try to misuse them.

They could visit the home of an elderly person, claiming to be a local government official and saying, “I will help you apply to use your my number card as a health insurance card,” and then use their own smartphone application to apply for the elderly person’s myna-points with the prepaid card they have brought with them…. …it’s not impossible. The reality is that there is no end to the number of victims of special frauds because there are people who think up such tricks.

The government must be concerned about this, and the Consumer Affairs Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications have issued a leaflet warning people to “Beware of scams using mynapoints! The Consumer Affairs Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications have issued an alert leaflet calling for “Beware of Scams Riding on MynaPoints!

I hope the elderly, who are vulnerable to cashless payment services, do not fall victim to the “myna-point scam. ……