FA Pay vs Welcome Suica Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FA Pay
Easily calculate confusing holiday pay and determine if extra shifts are financially beneficial. This app simplifies complex pay calculations, helping you maximize earnings, especially around your birthday.
- Holiday pay calculation
- Shift profitability analysis
- Birthday pay maximization reminder
- User-friendly interface
- Quick and easy calculations
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Confused or frustrated when trying to calculate your holiday pay ahead of a trip? Trying to decide if picking up that pairing is worth it for you? Enter a few details in this app and have your answer in no time at all! FA Pay is designed to make it easier for you to calculate that confusing holiday pay so you don't have to worry about it! It can even remind you ahead of your birthday so that you can maximize your holiday pay if you choose to fly over your birthday.
Welcome Suica Mobile
This app allows travelers in Japan to issue a digital transit and payment card on their iPhone. It enables seamless travel on major transportation networks and quick payments at shops. Users can also purchase Green Car tickets for added comfort and make Shinkansen reservations directly within the app.
- Issue digital Suica card on iPhone
- Seamless travel on trains and buses
- Quick payments at shops
- Purchase Green Car tickets
- Make Shinkansen reservations
- Top-up balance via Apple Pay
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When traveling in Japan, Suica is highly recommended. With Suica, you can enjoy seamless travel on all major transportation networks throughout Japan and make quick payments while shopping. Download the app on your iPhone and issue your Suica so you can travel without waiting in line for tickets! ■What’s New:March 2026 Now upgrade your journey with Suica Green Car Tickets purchased directly through Welcome Suica Mobile—offering extra comfort and a smoother ride to destinations like Narita Airport, Odawara, and Atami. Green Cars on local trains are a paid service offering spacious seats and a relaxing atmosphere. With Welcome Suica Mobile, you can purchase the required tickets for riding Green Cars on local trains. ■What's Great About It - The “Welcome Suica Mobile” app lets you instantly issue a Suica on your iPhone by setting a simple “secret keyword.” No membership registration is required. - Unlike a regular Suica, this app also provides transfer and tourist information. - Suica is a prepaid e-money card for trains, buses, and shopping anywhere in Japan. Once you’ve issued your Suica via the app, you’ll rarely need cash. - For transportation, simply tap your iPhone or Apple Watch at the ticket gate—no ticket purchase is necessary. The same goes for shopping; just tap to pay. - If your balance gets low, you can easily top it up via the app. - Top-ups are done through the credit card registered to Apple Pay. You don’t need to register your credit card information within the app. - Make reservations via JR-EAST Train Reservation directly within the app, allowing ticketless travel on JR East Shinkansen and limited express services to major destinations such as Narita Airport, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Yokohama, and Mt. Fuji. - You can ride non-reserved seats on the Tohoku, Hokkaido, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu, or Hokuriku Shinkansen without buying a paper ticket.* *For details on where “Touch de Go! Shinkansen” is available, please check the JR East website. ■How It Works - You can use Suica on trains, buses, and other transportation systems nationwide. In addition to Suica, areas that accept PASMO, SAPICA, Kitaca, ICAS nimoca, icsca, RYUTO, TOICA, manaca, ICOCA, PiTaPa, SUGOCA, nimoca, HAYAKAKEN, OKICA, SAPICA and more are also supported. - You can use it for payments at stores displaying the IC mark nationwide. - Please set your secret keyword to get support if any issues occur. - The support center provides assistance via email in English only. - Compatibility: iPhone with iOS 17.2 or later, and Apple Watch Series 3 or later. - Payment method: Apple Pay only. - Fees: No deposit or issuance fee is required. ■Things to know - The balance of Welcome Suica Mobile expires 180 days after issuance. Once it expires, you can issue a new Suica within the same app. Refunds are not available, so please use up any remaining balance at airports, stations, and other stores. - You cannot use Suica when your device is powered off. *If your device turns off while you’re inside the ticket gate, you will need to pay the fare in cash for the section you traveled. - Please enable Express Mode for Suica. *Enabling Express Mode for Suica lets you pass through automatic ticket gates without biometric authentication. Biometric authentication may still be required for shopping.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: FA Pay at 4.3 against Welcome Suica Mobile's 2.7. FA Pay also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 33%) and device support (3 vs 1). Welcome Suica Mobile's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. FA Pay sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Welcome Suica Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.
FA Pay holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 37 and 102 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of FA Pay's written reviews are positive against 33% of Welcome Suica Mobile's.
| Parameter | FA Pay | Welcome Suica Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (37 ratings) — better | 2.7 (102 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 33.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 37 | 102 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 17.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 69 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shane Sutro | East Japan Railway Company |
Customer experience
FA Pay
Welcome Suica Mobile
Bugs and requests
FA Pay
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Welcome Suica Mobile
Reported bugs
2 issues- Can't create an account due to 'wrong secret word'
- Locks out users after leaving the station
Requested features
2 requests- Allow using existing Suica cards
- Extend expiration period or remove it entirely
In-app purchases
FA Pay
- Bone to Throw$0.99
- Coffee for Shane$2.99
- Burrito for Shane$7.99
Welcome Suica Mobile
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is FA Pay free?
Is Welcome Suica Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, FA Pay or Welcome Suica Mobile?
Do FA Pay or Welcome Suica Mobile have ads?
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