ITOCHU Announces Start of Sales of Skype™ Credit to @nifty Members

February 6, 2013

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that ITOCHU and NIFTY Corporation (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Kenji Mitake, President; hereinafter “NIFTY”) would commence sales of Skype Credit to @nifty members. ITOCHU has been the sole distributor in Japan for the sale of Skype Credit in the retail sector.

ITOCHU has since October 2008 sold prepaid electronic money, called Skype Credit, for use with the Skype (*1) charging function at multimedia kiosks (*2) in major convenience stores. This move will enable @nifty members to purchase Skype Credit on the Internet using their @niftyID and to pay for the purchase together with other @nifty service charges. Moreover, invoices can now be issued for corporate members.

In the future, ITOCHU and NIFTY will continue to collaborate on service planning to provide utility for customers in their daily lives.

An outline and usage information on Skype Credit to be sold to @nifty members follows.

@nifty x Skype

URL of service page
Start date for sale of Skype Credit to @nifty members Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Available credit amounts (no tax) 500yen, 1,000yen, 2,000yen, 3,000yen, 5,000yen
To be sold to

@nifty individual members and some @nifty corporate members

*For details, refer to the FAQ pages on @nifty x Skype:

URL: http://skype.nifty.com/faq/[Open in a new window]
How to use

*For details, refer to the service page.

1) Download Skype application from the Skype website and install it on your PC or smartphone. Obtain your Skype account.

2) Register with @nifty (not necessary for those who already have an @niftyID).

3）Purchase Skype Credit on the @nifty x Skype site, paying with your @niftyID.

4）Enter the purchased PIN code on the Skype website. The amount is then credited to your Skype account.

(*1) Skype
Skype is a communication service provided by Microsoft Corporation. It offers free calls between Skype users and paid functions such as calls made to and from fixed landlines and cell phones, voicemail and call forwarding.

(*2) Multimedia kiosk
Touch-panel information terminal installed in convenience and other stores

NIFTY Corporation (http://www.nifty.co.jp/[Open in a new window])

NIFTY Corporation (total members: 11,450,000 as of the end of December 2012) is a provider of the @nifty Internet service. With its company slogan of “With Us, You Can,” the company continues offering support to enrich and raise convenience of customers’ lives by providing high-quality, safe and secure services.

  1. The name Skype, its related trademarks and logos, and the “S” logo are trademarks of Skype and its related business entities.
  2. Product names are generally trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies.