Honestly, if you’ve been using that green app to pay for your morning coffee or settle bills with friends, today’s LINE Pay news today landscape is kind of a mess. It’s a transition year. 2026 is officially the year where the "Super App" dream in Japan finally fractured into pieces, while Taiwan is doubling down on a completely different path.
You’ve probably seen the notifications. Or maybe you ignored them. But here is the reality: the LINE Pay you knew three years ago is essentially dead in its home market, and it’s being replaced by a corporate tug-of-war between Japan’s SoftBank and Korea’s Naver.
The Japan Exit: It’s Actually Happening Now
Let’s be blunt. If you are in Tokyo or Osaka right now, your LINE Pay balance is basically on life support. Following the official service termination that wrapped up in 2025, the early weeks of 2026 are all about the "clean up."
Basically, SoftBank won.
They’ve spent the last few years aggressively pushing PayPay—that red and white app that seemed to have a QR code at every single ramen shop in the country. By merging LINE Yahoo (LY Corporation), the goal was always to kill the overlap. Why run two massive payment networks when you can just force everyone into one?
What most people got wrong about the merger
People thought it would be a seamless "click to migrate" thing. It wasn't. Because of the heavy scrutiny from the Japanese government regarding data leaks and the influence of Korea’s Naver, the "integration" looked more like a forced eviction.
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- Balance Transfers: If you didn't move your funds to PayPay by the April 2025 deadline, your money didn't just vanish, but it’s now stuck in a legal refund process governed by Japan's Payment Services Act.
- The "Naver" Factor: There is a lot of chatter about SoftBank trying to "erase" Naver's footprint. Since LINE Pay was heavily tied to Naver's tech stack, switching to PayPay was as much about geopolitics and data security as it was about business efficiency.
Taiwan is the New Battleground
While Japan is saying goodbye, Taiwan is doing the exact opposite. If you look at LINE Pay news today in Taipei, the company isn't just surviving; it's thriving and trying to go public.
In late 2025, LINE Pay Taiwan officially hit the stock exchange. They aren't just a "feature" of a messaging app there; they are a financial powerhouse. But there’s a major catch that’s catching users off guard this month.
The iPASS Money Split
For years, LINE Pay and iPASS Money were basically married. You used the LINE app, but the "wallet" part—the actual stored value—was handled by iPASS.
That marriage is officially over.
- The New App: LINE Pay has launched its own standalone "LINE Pay Money" platform.
- The Delay: Interestingly, they had to delay the full forced migration until mid-2026 because users were losing their minds over the complexity.
- The Result: Right now, you’re likely seeing two different icons. One for the "official" LINE Pay and one for the old iPASS-linked services.
It is a confusing time for the 12 million users in Taiwan. You’ve basically got to decide if you want to stay in the LINE ecosystem for the points or move to the standalone iPASS app to keep your old balance.
Why This Fragmentation Matters for Your Phone
We were promised a "Super App" future. You know, the one where you do everything—chat, pay, book a taxi, buy insurance—in one place.
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That dream is dying in 2026.
Instead of one app to rule them all, we are seeing specialized "FinTech" spin-offs. In Thailand, LINE Pay is still hanging on, but even there, the competition from local banks and prompt-pay systems is making the "LINE" part of the branding less relevant.
The Security Elephant in the Room
We have to talk about why this is happening. The Japanese government's administrative guidance on LY Corporation was a massive wake-up call. They basically told the company: "We don't trust how you're handling data between Japan and Korea."
This forced a technical divorce. When you separate the payment layer from the messaging layer, you gain security but lose convenience. That is exactly what we are feeling today. It’s slightly more annoying to pay for things now, but your data is (theoretically) stored in more localized, regulated silos.
What You Should Actually Do Right Now
If you have a stray balance or you’re confused by the constant app updates, here is the move.
First, check your region. If you’re using a Japanese account, stop trying to find the LINE Pay tab. It’s gone. You need to download PayPay and see if your account was one of the ones that successfully linked during the 2025 transition. If not, you’re looking at a manual refund request through the official LY Corp portal.
Second, if you’re in Taiwan, don't delete your iPASS app just yet. Even though LINE Pay wants you to move to their new self-operated platform, the partnership has been extended through July 2026 to prevent a total service blackout. You have time, but start moving your "Friend Transfers" to the new system now to avoid a headache this summer.
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Lastly, watch your "LINE Points." These are becoming the real currency. Even as the payment platforms split and change names, the loyalty points are the glue holding it together. Whether you're on PayPay in Japan or the new LINE Pay Money in Taiwan, those points are usually the only thing that actually transfers across the board without a fight.
The era of the "all-in-one" wallet is shifting into the era of the "integrated but separate" financial tool. It's less "cool," but honestly, it's probably safer for your bank account in the long run.
Actionable Next Steps:
- In Japan: Download the PayPay app and check the "External Account Link" settings to see if your LINE Pay history was migrated. If your balance is "missing," visit the LY Corporation's official refund site to file a claim under the Payment Services Act.
- In Taiwan: Update your LINE app to the latest version to access the new self-operated wallet, but keep the iPASS Money app installed for at least another six months to ensure you don't lose access to older transaction records or transit history.