シャトル
Tokyo, JP · 5 known investors
Shuttle Pay offers a prepaid Mastercard card and companion apps for children and parents, letting families send money, track spending in real time, set savings goals, and manage allowances. It is a Japanese fintech product aimed at helping kids build money-management habits.
Also known as Shuttle Co., Ltd. · Shuttle Pay · シャトルペイ · シャトル株式会社
Founders & leadership
Investors · 5
Also in the syndicate · 3
Company profile
researched Aug 2026シャトル株式会社 (Shuttle Co., Ltd.) develops and operates Shuttle Pay (シャトルペイ), a prepaid card service for children in Japan. The card is usable at Mastercard-accepting merchants both in physical stores and online, and is issued by partner TOMOWEL Payment Service. The service is delivered through two separate mobile apps — one optimized for parents and one for children — with card-only use also possible if the child has no smartphone. Up to two cards can be issued per account, with support for three or more cards and additional child-monitoring features stated as planned. No age restriction is applied.
Functional scope includes real-time purchase notifications, visualized transaction history, monthly category-level reports, an automatically generated allowance ledger (おこづかい帳), savings goal setting, fee-free transfers from parent to child at any time, scheduled recurring allowance transfers (monthly or by day of week), and a task/reward-based allowance mode in which parents define jobs and pay rewards after completion reports. Help-center documentation also covers a jobs feature, savings feature, transit IC card reading, use with Mobile Suica, a partner app-linking function, a "money learning" (お金の学び) section, an AI letter feature and an AI coach support feature for children. Parent and child apps are linked by scanning a QR code generated in the parent app.
The company states a mission of maximizing the potential of the younger generation that will carry the future. Its representative, 見原思郎 (Shiro Mihara), published a book on digital money education for parents and children, released 2025-05-26.
Business model
Consumer subscription fintech: Shuttle provides the app layer and a paid monthly card plan, while prepaid card issuance and the underlying prepaid money (前払式支払手段) are handled by partner TOMOWEL Payment Service. Parents purchase prepaid balance via the app and load it onto the child's card; the company is categorized as subscription/FinTech/payments/BtoC.
Subscription fees: the terms of use require a monthly card plan of JPY 480 (tax included) per card user; the first month of membership is free as a trial, no pro-rating or refunds are given, and additional partner accounts linked to an already-paid card user incur no extra charge. Card reissuance carries a fee, and loads above a set monthly amount may incur a fee.
Traction
The service has been live with help-center documentation dating from 2022 and continuing feature guides through 2026; identity verification via LIQUID eKYC was added in 2024 alongside support for issuing a card to a second child.
Latest developments
Help-center guides added an AI letter usage guide and an "AI coach accompaniment support" feature for children, and the company's business description was updated on the Speeda startup database in 2025-11.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned in Japan's children's prepaid card and financial-education segment, operating with Mastercard network acceptance and issuer/network partnerships (Mastercard, Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS, TOMOWEL Payment Service).
Separate parent and child apps on a single card account, fee-free and schedulable transfers, reward-based allowance workflows, automatic allowance ledger generation, savings goals surfaced to parents, monthly category reports, and partner accounts allowing multiple adults to manage one card without extra fees.
Technology
Mobile apps for parents and children linked via QR code, integrated with the issuer's prepaid money rails for instant loading, balance checks, transfer-back to a parent balance (チャージ戻し), and transaction history (merchant name and category can take up to five days to reflect). Identity verification uses LIQUID eKYC, required for adding card users or raising load limits. Additional features include transit IC card reading, Mobile Suica compatibility, and AI-based letter and coaching features for children.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer via the product website and mobile app sign-up (card issued through the app), promoted with a three-month free trial offer, plus content marketing through an extensive help center and blog covering allowance methods, financial education and product guides, a manga explainer, and a book authored by the CEO.
Families in Japan with children — parents seeking to give and monitor allowances and build children's money-management habits, plus the children themselves as card and app users. Partner accounts allow a second adult to share management of one card.
Geography
Japan; headquartered at KC Building 6F, 2-35-1 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
History
Shuttle Co., Ltd. was established in 2019-10 and is based in Minato-ku, Tokyo, led by representative 見原思郎. Shuttle Pay app terms and help-center content date from March 2022. In July 2022 the company announced a third-party allotment share issuance raising approximately JPY 550 million in a seed round, and simultaneously announced partnerships with Mastercard, Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS and TOMOWEL Payment Service. A post-money valuation of JPY 2,150 million (including potential shares) is recorded as of 2022-02-02. In 2024 the service added LIQUID eKYC identity verification and card issuance for a second child; in 2025 the CEO published a book on parent-child digital money education.
Risks & controversies
The app terms disclaim company liability for card user actions, loads and balance management, state that loads cannot be cancelled or refunded to cash, that minors cannot void transactions made with loaded prepaid money, and that no refunds are given on the monthly plan; registration is refused for applicants including minors/persons with limited capacity, sanctioned parties and those linked to organized crime.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsRepresentative 見原思郎 released his first book, 『親子で学ぶデジタル×マネー教育 ネコマルのデジタルおこづかいレッスン』.
Shuttle Pay introduced the LIQUID eKYC identity verification service, enabling card issuance for a second child.
Shuttle announced a third-party allotment share issuance, raising a total of approximately JPY 550 million in a seed round.
Shuttle announced business partnerships with Mastercard, 三菱UFJニコス (Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS) and TOMOWEL Payment Service, the latter acting as issuer of the Shuttle Pay prepaid card.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- シャトルshuttlepay.jp · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does シャトル do?
- Japanese fintech operating Shuttle Pay, a Mastercard prepaid card and paired parent/child apps for allowances and money habits.
- Who founded シャトル?
- シャトル was founded by 見原思郎.
- Who are シャトル's investors?
- シャトル's investors include NOW Japan, Genesia Ventures.
- Where is シャトル headquartered?
- シャトル is headquartered in Tokyo, JP.