Fintech Hong Kong·2026-02-16 02:43Core Viewpoint - PayPay, SoftBank's digital payments unit, has filed for a US IPO, potentially becoming the largest listing by a Japanese company on a US exchange, with a valuation target above US$10 billion, and possibly as high as US$20 billion [1][4]. Financial Performance - For the nine months ending December, PayPay reported a profit of ¥103.3 billion on revenue of ¥278.5 billion, a significant increase from the previous year's profit of ¥28.96 billion on revenue of ¥220.4 billion [2]. User Growth and Market Position - PayPay has grown rapidly since its launch in 2018, now boasting over 72 million users in Japan, and has overtaken Rakuten Group's Rakuten Pay [2][3]. - QR-code payments accounted for 9.6% of Japan's cashless transactions in 2024, a substantial increase from 0.2% in 2018, while credit cards' market share is declining [3]. Business Strategy and Expansion - The company has relied on aggressive marketing, subsidies, and merchant acquisition supported by SoftBank [3]. - PayPay has expanded internationally, enabling payments at over two million merchants in South Korea ahead of its IPO [4]. IPO Details - PayPay plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker PAYP, with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Mizuho Financial Group, and Morgan Stanley leading the offering [5].