Japanese mobile payments company PayPay announced its user base has reached 15 million registered accounts, one year since launch in the country.

In a statement the company, which is a joint venture between SoftBank Group and Yahoo Japan, said the milestone was achieved on 1 October.

It represents fast growth from a 10 million milestone hit on 7 August.

PayPay put the rapid user growth down to its ‘Machikado PayPay’ campaign and a point reward project.

The mobile payment service is accepted by 1.5 million merchants, such as stores and taxis, the company said, adding that a total of 170 million transactions were made since the launch of the payment app a year ago.

PayPay has the ambitious goal to create “a society where people can buy anything through cashless payments in every corner of the country with a safe and secured service for our users”.

Japan is undergoing a transformation in the way it operates payments, and the country’s authorities have set a target to reduce the proportion of transactions made using coins and notes to 60 per cent by 2025.

India-based mobile wallet company Paytm was initially part of the joint venture, alongside SoftBank Group and Yahoo Japan, but its name is notably absent in today’s press release published by PayPay.