This is an English translation of our Japanese article. The Japanese version, the Minato City website and the official Minato 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: 1 September 2026. Based on the Minato City website, Minato City press releases, and the terms published on the official Minato Pay (みなトクPAY) site. Rates, caps and periods change without notice and can end early once a budget is exhausted.
The short answer. Minato City's Minato Pay has by far the highest headline rate of any local-currency app in this series: up to 20% at small independent shops belonging to the ward shopping-street federation. But the rate is not permanent — it runs as month-long campaigns, and the caps are 7,000 points at 20% and 3,000 points at 10%. Separately, every resident received 10,000 yen; the point version expired on 31 August, but the paper vouchers remain valid until 31 October 2026. This article works through who benefits, up to what amount, and until when — using only the official terms.
20% is in a different league among Tokyo ward apps
This series covers one municipal digital local currency at a time. Shibuya's Hachi Pay pays 8% year-round to verified residents; Kita's Hoku Pay issues vouchers at a 30% premium.
Minato is designed differently from both. Rather than holding a high rate all year or issuing one big premium voucher, it creates several "campaign months" a year and pushes the rate hard only during those. In August 2026 the campaign ran from the 1st to the 31st at up to 20%.
That has an upside and a downside. The upside is that concentrating purchases into a campaign month gives a rate no other ward matches. The downside is that outside those months the rate drops sharply, so it is not a wallet to rely on day to day.
The basics: who runs it and what it does
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operator | Minato Ward Shopping Street Federation. The ward's digital local currency |
| Three functions | Money (top up any time) / Points (earned on spending) / Vouchers (sold at a premium) |
| Where it works | Participating shops inside Minato City only |
| Rate structure | Varies by shop. Higher at federation-member independents, lower at large stores |
| Excluded | Medical institutions, dispensing pharmacies, taxis and others. Some participating shops are also excluded from rebates |
| Contact | Minato Pay call centre 0120-19-3710 (9:00–18:00) / Minato City Industry Promotion Division 03-6435-4601 |
Money, points and vouchers are three separate things. Money is what you top up and spend; points are what rebates and grants pay in; vouchers are what you buy at a premium. Each has its own expiry and scope, so read your balance as three separate pots. The 10,000 yen paid to every resident is a case in point: the deadline differs by two months depending on whether you took it as points or paper.
Read the cap as "how much spending fills it"
The published caps are 7,000 points at 20% and 3,000 points at 10%. Converting those into spending shows what a campaign is actually worth.
Shops at 20% (federation-member independents)
7,000 points ÷ 20% = 35,000 yen of spending fills the cap
Shops at 10% (large stores and others)
3,000 points ÷ 10% = 30,000 yen of spending fills the cap
So a campaign month is worth roughly 10,000 points at most, even using both tiers fully. Spend 35,000 yen at independents and you have your 7,000. Beyond that, nothing more accrues.
Points do not land at the moment of payment. For the August 2026 campaign, rebate points were scheduled to arrive around 10 September. Your balance will not grow within the month you spend, so plan the next purchase around the crediting date.
The terms state explicitly that the rate "varies by shop". Within the same ward you will find 20% shops, 10% shops and excluded ones side by side. Per-shop rates are listed on the official site, so checking where you plan to spend before a large purchase lets you plan how to use the cap.
The 10,000 yen for every resident: paper vouchers are still live
Separately from the rebate campaigns, Minato City paid 10,000 yen to every resident, funded by the national emergency grant for responding to rising prices, in a programme announced in December 2025.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who | Anyone registered as a resident of Minato City as of 1 January 2026 |
| Amount | 10,000 yen per person |
| Default method | Minato Pay digital points. No application needed; notices were sent in March 2026 |
| For those who cannot use the app | The same value in paper vouchers: twenty 500-yen notes, requested by submitting a declination and dispatch request form |
| Point validity | March to August 2026 (expired) |
| Paper voucher validity | May to 31 October 2026 |
| Funding | National emergency grant for responding to rising prices |
This is the most immediately useful part of the article. Points expired at the end of August 2026. But paper vouchers remain valid until 31 October. Twenty 500-yen notes is exactly the kind of amount that gets left in a drawer. If that applies to you, check before the deadline — anything unused simply lapses.
Note that eligibility was fixed by residence on 1 January 2026. Anyone who moved into Minato after that date was excluded, while those who have since moved away still qualified. Cut-off dates are the norm for grants of this kind — the same logic applies to payments for resident-tax-exempt households.
Premium vouchers run as a separate track
Alongside the rebate campaigns and the universal payment, Minato Pay also sells premium vouchers. Applications for FY2026 opened on 1 July, and a 20% premium issue was indicated for September. Dates, premium rates, caps and application rules are subject to change, so check the official announcements directly if you intend to buy.
Premium vouchers are something you buy, which makes them different in kind from rebates and grants. Paying 10,000 yen for 12,000 yen of value is a 2,000 yen gain — but only if you spend it. Fail to use it and you lose money. The first question is whether you realistically will spend that much at participating Minato shops before expiry.
Three tracks coexist, but you have one wallet. The rebate cap, the 10,000 yen payment and any premium vouchers you bought all run separate expiry clocks. Spend whatever expires soonest, and pay particular attention to paper vouchers, whose balance never appears in the app.
Three wards side by side reveal three philosophies
| Ward | Approach | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Minato — Minato Pay | Up to 20% at independents in campaign months; low otherwise | 7,000 pts at 20% / 3,000 pts at 10% |
| Shibuya — Hachi Pay | 8% year-round for verified residents, 4% for everyone else | 888 pts per transaction, 8,000 pts a month |
| Kita — Hoku Pay | Vouchers issued at a 30% premium (from 5 October 2026) | Around 1.8 billion yen issued in total |
The Minato model rewards people who can choose when to spend. If you can move a large purchase into a campaign month, 20% beats every other ward outright. If instead you want your daily convenience-store spending to be slightly cheaper, Shibuya's steady year-round rate suits you better. Which one wins depends on your shopping pattern, not on the headline number.
What to do today
- If you took the paper vouchers, count what is left. Twenty 500-yen notes, valid to 31 October 2026. Anything unspent is lost.
- Watch for the next campaign announcement. Minato Pay rewards concentrating spending into campaign months, so a large purchase is worth timing around the official notice.
- Check the rate tier of the shops you actually use. 20%, 10% and excluded shops sit side by side within the ward.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to live in Minato City to use Minato Pay?
Nothing in the terms restricts downloading or using the app to residents. However, it only works at participating shops inside Minato City. The separate 10,000 yen payment was explicitly limited to people registered as residents of Minato City as of 1 January 2026.
Is the 20% rate available at any time?
No. The maximum 20% applies only during campaign periods; in August 2026 that meant 1 to 31 August. Even within a campaign the rate varies by shop, with federation-member independents higher and large stores lower. Medical institutions, dispensing pharmacies and taxis are excluded.
Can I still receive the 10,000 yen payment?
No new payments are being made. The point version expired at the end of August 2026. However, anyone who chose paper vouchers can still use them until 31 October 2026. They were sent as twenty 500-yen notes, so check for unused ones.
When do rebate points arrive?
Not immediately after payment. For the August 2026 campaign, rebate points were scheduled for around 10 September. Points are credited in bulk after the campaign month ends, so a balance that has not grown right after spending is not a fault.
Are premium vouchers worth buying?
They are if you will spend them at participating Minato shops before they expire. At a 20% premium, 10,000 yen buys 12,000 yen of value. But vouchers are something you buy, so anything unspent is a loss. Dates, premium rates, caps and application rules can change, so check the current terms on the official site before purchasing.
Sources
This article is general information about a public scheme. Rates, caps, periods and participating shops change without notice, and campaigns can end early once a budget is exhausted. Check the Minato Pay official site and Minato City announcements for current terms before relying on anything here.