This is an English translation of our Japanese article. The Japanese version, the Shibuya City portal and the official Hachi Pay site are authoritative. Campaign terms change without notice and can end early once a budget is exhausted, so check the official notices before relying on any figure here.
Last updated: 30 August 2026. Based on the Shibuya City portal, the campaign terms published on the official Hachi Pay site, and Shibuya City press releases. Terms, periods and caps change without notice and can end early once a budget is exhausted, so check the official Hachi Pay notices before relying on any figure here.
The short answer. Shibuya City's digital local currency, Hachi Pay, announced on 28 August 2026 that from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 it will keep paying 8% back to residents who complete ward verification, and 4% to everyone else. But the rebate is capped at 888 points per payment and 8,000 points per month, so an 8% user maxes out at 100,000 yen of spending a month. Even used to the full, that is 96,000 points a year. This piece works through the official terms to set out who gains, up to what ceiling, and until when.
Municipal payment apps have reached the point where not using one costs you money
Local governments across Tokyo now fund cashless rebates through their own digital local currencies. Setagaya has Setagaya Pay, Itabashi has Itabashi Pay, Minato has Minato-toku PAY. Rates and conditions differ widely: some sit around 1% year-round, others push past 20% for limited periods.
Among them, Shibuya's Hachi Pay stands out for its standing rate. Complete ward verification and you get 8% all year. Against the 0.5% to 1% typical of a credit card, that is an order of magnitude.
This series takes one municipal app at a time and works through the official terms: the rate and its caps, who and which shops qualify, and until when. We start with Hachi Pay.
The basics: who issues it, and who can use it
Hachi Pay is issued by Shibuya City itself and launched on 1 November 2022. The ward's press release put the opening merchant count at around 1,200 stores inside the ward. Current merchant and user counts are published on the ward's Hachi Pay dashboard.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who can use it | Anyone. You do not need to live in Shibuya; non-residents get 4% back |
| Where it works | Only at Hachi Pay merchants inside Shibuya. It does not work elsewhere |
| Topping up | Credit card, Seven Bank ATMs nationwide, or dedicated top-up machines in the ward |
| Ward verification | Requires the signing certificate password on a My Number card. Open to Shibuya residents aged 15 and over. Valid for one year |
| Without a My Number card | Bring a copy of your residence certificate issued within three months plus photo ID to the 7th floor of the ward office |
| Point expiry | One year (365 days) from your most recent payment from the main wallet |
"Hachi Po" is a different thing. Hachi Po is a community coin earned by joining local events and volunteering. It cannot be used to pay with Hachi Pay and has no cash value. Occasional exchange opportunities exist, but the two are separate systems.
One more feature users rarely notice. The ward portal states that "Hachi Pay charges no fee to the sole proprietors and small and medium-sized businesses that adopt it. 100% of what customers spend is transferred to the shop." Ordinary cashless payments cost a merchant a few percent; paying with Hachi Pay leaves that margin with the shop (only large companies not belonging to a shopping-street association pay 1%).
The 8% stops at 100,000 yen a month
This is the most misread part of the scheme. "8% all year" sounds unlimited, but the terms set hard caps.
| Item | 1 Oct 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 |
|---|---|
| Rate | Ward verification valid: up to 8% / invalid or expired: up to 4% |
| Cap per payment | 888 points |
| Cap per month | 8,000 points (1st to last day of the month; identical regardless of verification) |
| Eligible | Only the "money" balance in the main wallet |
| Not eligible | Amounts paid with points, the digital voucher wallet, the furusato tax wallet |
With ward verification (8%)
888 points ÷ 8% = capped at 11,100 yen per payment
8,000 points ÷ 8% = capped at 100,000 yen per month
Without ward verification (4%)
888 points ÷ 4% = capped at 22,200 yen per payment
8,000 points ÷ 4% = capped at 200,000 yen per month
In other words, if you spend 200,000 yen or more a month, verification makes no difference at all — both groups hit the same 8,000-point ceiling. Verification only pays off below that line.
What comes back over a year
| Monthly Hachi Pay spending | Verified (8%) | Unverified (4%) |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 yen | 9,600 points a year | 4,800 points a year |
| 30,000 yen | 28,800 points a year | 14,400 points a year |
| 50,000 yen | 48,000 points a year | 24,000 points a year |
| 100,000 yen | 96,000 points (cap) | 48,000 points a year |
| 200,000 yen | 96,000 points (cap) | 96,000 points (cap) |
One point equals one yen, so read the figures straight across. Shifting everyday shopping and eating out inside the ward onto the app realistically lands most people at 30,000 to 50,000 yen a month, which returns 30,000 to 50,000 yen over a year.
The leak most people miss. The terms state that when you hold both money and points, points are spent first — and amounts paid with points earn no rebate. Every time you burn accumulated points, that payment earns nothing. The table above is the theoretical figure for always paying with money; in practice it drops in any month where you spend points.
How far the extra campaigns stack
| Campaign | Rebate | Period and conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping-street campaign | Up to 30% | 1–30 September 2026. Verified residents only. Merchants belonging to associations in the Shibuya shopping-street federation. Capped at 3,000 points |
| Sports facility fees | Up to 50% | 1 July 2026 – 31 March 2027. Verified residents only. Gyms and heated pools including the Shibuya Sports Centre. Group bookings and merchandise excluded |
| Cultural facility admission | Up to 50% | 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027. Verified residents only. Shoto Museum of Art, Cosmo Planetarium Shibuya, the former Asakura residence and others. Merchandise excluded |
| First ward verification | 1,000 points | 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027, once per person |
| Digital voucher (4th round) | 50% premium | Sold 2 February – 1 April 2026 (10,000 yen buys 15,000 yen of value, two sets per person, 90,000 sets first-come). Expires 31 March 2027 |
30% and 8% do not add up. The shopping-street terms state plainly that the campaign "cannot be combined with the 4% or 8% point rebate campaigns." The 3,000-point cap is reached at 10,000 yen of spending at 30%, and the 800 points that same 10,000 yen would have earned at 8% are forfeited. The genuine uplift is the 2,200-point difference. Once the cap is hit, the next payment reverts to the usual 8% or 4%.
A verified resident spending 100,000 yen a month and chasing every add-on (the theoretical maximum, stretching 2026 terms across a full year)
Standing 8% rebate: 96,000 points
Net uplift from the shopping-street campaign: 2,200 points
First ward verification: 1,000 points (once only)
Digital voucher premium: 10,000 yen (two sets, next sale round)
Total: about 109,200 yen of value
That assumes 1.2 million yen a year spent at merchants inside the ward. Someone spending 30,000 yen a month lands nearer 40,000 yen a year.
Is ward verification worth the trouble?
Almost every add-on campaign is limited to residents with valid ward verification, so the decision changes what you can claim.
Verified
- 8% standing rate, double the unverified rate
- 1,000 points once, on first verification
- Eligible for the 30% shopping-street campaign
- Eligible for the 50% sports and cultural facility rebates
- Able to buy the 50%-premium digital vouchers
Unverified
- 4% standing rate
- No add-on campaigns at all
- Cannot buy digital vouchers
- But above 200,000 yen a month, the rebate itself matches a verified user's
You need a My Number card and its signing certificate password. Shibuya residents aged 15 and over qualify; under-15s cannot be issued a signing certificate at all. Without a card, bring a residence certificate issued within the last three months plus photo ID to the 7th floor of the ward office and verify in person.
Two deadlines to watch. First, ward verification lasts one year. Let it lapse and your rate drops to 4% and you fall out of every add-on campaign, so renew annually. Second, a My Number card takes over a month to obtain, and the ward advises applying early. A short campaign like September's shopping-street offer cannot be reached by applying for a card now.
Topping up, and other ways to get points
You can top up three ways: credit card, Seven Bank ATMs nationwide, and the dedicated machines inside the ward. Topping up by card earns your card's own points on top.
Non-residents can get points through furusato nozei
Shibuya offers "Hachi Pay furusato tax points" as a thank-you gift, for donors living outside the ward.
They are narrower in scope than ordinary Hachi Pay: restaurants, hairdressers and accommodation inside the ward, excluding some chains and any restaurant with at least one branch outside Shibuya. They cannot buy goods. The redemption QR code arrives by post and expires three months after it is issued; points then last one year from redemption. Our complete guide to furusato nozei covers the wider mechanics.
Commuters and visitors count too. Registration is open to non-residents and carries the standing 4%. If you work in Shibuya or shop there often, simply installing the app makes lunch and shopping 4% cheaper. Merchants are limited to the ward, but everyday categories — restaurants, supermarkets, drugstores, hairdressers — are well covered.
Pitfalls worth knowing before you start
What works
- Non-residents can register and earn 4%
- Without a My Number card, verification is possible at the ward office with a residence certificate and photo ID
- Sports and cultural facility fees qualify (50% back for verified residents)
- Topping up by credit card earns card points as well
What does not
- It only works at merchants inside Shibuya
- Points are spent before money, which erodes your rebate
- The 30% shopping-street rate cannot be combined with the standing 8%
- Digital voucher balances expire with no refund
- Under-15s cannot obtain a signing certificate, so they cannot complete ward verification
- A My Number card takes over a month to obtain, which can miss a campaign window
- Campaigns can end early once the budget is exhausted
Expiry deserves special attention. The voucher terms state that money and points expire after the deadline and "will not be refunded under any circumstances"; the fourth-round vouchers expire on 31 March 2027. Ordinary points also vanish one year after your last payment.
- Install the app and register — anyone can, and 4% applies from that moment
- Shibuya residents should complete ward verification with a My Number card: 1,000 points once, and the rate rises to 8%
- Top up only what you will spend. Above 100,000 yen a month the rebate stops, so larger balances earn nothing extra
- Points are spent first, so avoid burning them just before a large purchase
- Check the official notices for limited campaigns; they can end early once the budget is exhausted
- Ward verification lapses after a year — remember to renew
Ward verification lasts one year. Let it lapse and your rate falls back to 4%, so renew annually.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the 8% rate last?
Through 31 March 2027, as currently published. The 4th-anniversary notice posted on the official Hachi Pay site on 28 August 2026 confirmed continuation from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. The same terms ran from 1 April to 30 September 2026, and Shibuya has been announcing and extending in half-year blocks. The terms state that a campaign may end early if the budget is close to exhausted, so check the official notices for the current position.
Can I use it if I do not live in Shibuya?
Yes. Anyone can install the app and register, and from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 unverified users receive up to 4% back. However, it only works at Hachi Pay merchants inside Shibuya, and the 8% rate, the shopping-street campaign, the 50% facility rebates and the digital vouchers are all limited to residents with valid ward verification. Non-residents can also obtain points as a furusato nozei thank-you gift.
How much monthly spending hits the 8% cap?
The monthly ceiling is 8,000 points, so at 8% you max out at 100,000 yen of spending. There is also an 888-point cap per payment, reached at 11,100 yen. At the unverified 4% rate the equivalents are 22,200 yen per payment and 200,000 yen per month. Since the cap is identical either way, verification makes no difference above 200,000 yen a month. The monthly window runs from the 1st to the last day of the month.
When do points expire?
One year (365 days) after your most recent payment from the main wallet. Keep using it and the clock keeps resetting; leave it idle and the balance lapses. The digital voucher wallet is separate: the fourth-round vouchers expire on 31 March 2027, after which all money and points in that wallet are forfeited with no refund. Furusato tax points must be redeemed within three months of the QR code being issued, and then last one year from redemption.
What does ward verification require, and how long does it take?
With a My Number card and its signing certificate password, it is done entirely in the app. Without a card, bring a residence certificate issued within the last three months plus photo ID to the 7th floor of the ward office and verify in person. Applying for a My Number card takes over a month, so plan ahead if you are aiming at a limited campaign. Shibuya residents aged 15 and over qualify; under-15s cannot be issued a signing certificate. Verification lasts one year, after which the rate returns to 4%.
Sources
- Shibuya City portal, "Digital local currency project: Hachi Pay"
- Shibuya City press release, launch of Hachi Pay on 1 November 2022
- Hachi Pay, "Point rebate campaign continues from October" (28 August 2026)
- Hachi Pay, shopping-street campaign up to 30% (September 2026)
- Hachi Pay, sports facility rebate up to 50%
- Hachi Pay, cultural facility rebate up to 50%
- Hachi Pay, 4th-round digital voucher with a 50% premium
- Hachi Pay, information for merchants
- Hachi Pay, 1,000 points for first ward verification
- Hachi Pay, furusato tax points
This article is general information based on published material and does not recommend any particular app or municipality. Campaign terms, periods and caps change without notice and can end early, so check the official Hachi Pay notices before acting.