Payke Review: How Useful the Japan Shopping Translation App Is, the Hong Kong Dollar Value of the 500-Point Invite and Japan's November Tax Refund Change

Payke is operated by Payke Inc., headquartered in Naha, Okinawa. The company was founded in November 2014 and has offered the app since 2015. According to figures Payke published in April 2026, its database covers about 750,000 products in seven languages, namely Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese, and more than 5.5 million people have used it.

The app may be downloaded free from the Hong Kong App Store and Google Play. Besides barcode scanning, it offers store coupons, product rankings, articles on popular products, a chat-based service for buying Japanese products by proxy, the Payke Express online shop and its own eSIM, all linked by the Payke POINT loyalty scheme.

Once the user scans a product barcode with the camera, Payke displays the product's name, description, ingredients and directions in the chosen language, together with user reviews and its ranking among similar products. Applicable categories include cosmetics, medicines, food, supplements, household goods, souvenirs and anime merchandise, precisely the areas in which Japanese packaging is hardest to follow.

The function is most useful for checking allergens and ingredients, comparing different lines within one brand, and reading the directions on over-the-counter medicines. Payke states that its data covers around 90% of the items visitors pick up; for products not listed, a translation app may be used to read the packaging, and staff should be consulted on any doubt about medicine directions.

The coupons page gathers discount coupons from chains including Don Quijote, Bic Camera, Daikoku Drug and GU, generally a percentage off above a set spend; the Don Quijote coupon shown in Payke's store screenshots gives 5% off ¥10,000 or 7% off ¥30,000 before tax. Coupons must be shown at the till before payment.

In April 2026 Payke introduced a shopping concierge AI in beta, which suggests suitable shops for the user's shopping list, explains the differences between versions within a brand and describes tax-free procedures. Product rankings show the top sellers in each category and serve as a reference when choosing gifts.

Payke POINT was launched on 4 September 2025. Users earn points by joining campaigns, using the app and playing its free games, some of which award more than 5,000 points. Payke's points page prices them at 10 points to ¥1 and notes that the rate may vary with exchange rates.

Points may be exchanged for Payke eSIMs, Payke Japan proxy-shopping coupons and gift cards, including prepaid cards usable in Japan. Points are not cash and cannot be withdrawn; if the balance does not change for a year, they lapse automatically, so points earned on a single trip should be used before returning to Hong Kong.

After opening our link on a phone and installing Payke, the user enters ZMH3HZVG in the invitation code field when registering a new account; the link does not carry the code. The invite states that new users receive 500 Payke POINT. Payke does not publish the invite amount on its website, the in-app campaign being decisive, so the balance should be checked under My Point after registration. ZMH3HZVG is our invitation code.

At 10 points to ¥1, 500 points equal ¥50, about HK$2.50 at the 23 October 2026 rate, or roughly 15% of the cheapest Payke eSIM at ¥330; the 7-day 7GB plan at ¥1,300 (about HK$65) requires 13,000 points. The invite reward is symbolic; the value lies in the app itself.

Payke sells data-only eSIMs for Japan in two types. On 24 October 2026, total-data plans ranged from ¥330 (about HK$16.50) for 2 days and 500MB to ¥12,000 for 31 days and 50GB, including ¥882 (about HK$44) for 5 days and 5GB and ¥1,300 (about HK$65) for 7 days and 7GB; daily plans provide 1GB, 2GB or 3GB a day for 3 to 10 days, from ¥660. Prices include Japanese consumption tax and change frequently.

The activation-code link is emailed within one business day of ordering, and the plan's days are counted from the day the network first detects the phone connecting, so it should be set up after arriving in Japan. The phone must support eSIM and be unlocked, which should be confirmed in its settings before purchase.

Until 31 October 2026, tax-free shops exempt Japanese consumption tax at the till. Goods bought from 1 November 2026 fall under a refund method instead: the traveller shows a passport and pays the tax-inclusive price, customs verifies the goods at the airport or seaport on departure, and the shop or its refund company then refunds the tax. The conditions are a spend of ¥5,000 or more before tax in one shop on one day, export of the goods within 90 days, and consumables left unopened.

Travellers must complete the customs verification at an airport kiosk before airline check-in, allowing ample time; the Japan Tourism Agency states that no compensation is given for flights missed because of tax-free procedures. Shoppers should ask each shop how the refund is paid, for example to a credit card, an app or in cash, and keep receipts safe until the refund arrives.

Payke Express is Payke's online shop, which ships Japanese products abroad at tax-free prices, with no Japanese consumption tax charged on international orders. Orders are dispatched within 3 to 10 business days and arrive roughly 5 to 14 business days later. Hong Kong levies no sales tax, but under Payke Express's terms any import duty or charges that arise are payable by the recipient; where such charges are refused, neither goods nor payment are returned, and returns for change of mind are not accepted.

The chat-based proxy service has Payke buy products in Japan on the user's behalf. Payke does not publish its fees on an open page, and users should request an all-inclusive total, shipping included, before paying. Before ordering medicines or cosmetics, users should confirm Hong Kong's import rules; under Payke Express's terms this responsibility rests with the buyer.

Payke states that no permissions are required to open the app. Optional permissions are the camera (to scan barcodes and QR codes and photograph receipts), location (to show rankings, recommendations, nearby shops and coupons based on the user's position), nearby devices (to detect when the user is near a shop and push related offers) and notifications (to receive coupon and event news).

The app may be used without granting the optional permissions, and authorisation is requested again only when a related function is used. We recommend enabling only the camera; location and nearby-device permissions serve mainly to push offers and may be granted at the user's discretion.

As of 24 October 2026, Payke holds 1,077 ratings on the Hong Kong App Store averaging 4.7 out of 5; Google Play shows about 4,400 reviews averaging 4.9, with more than 1 million downloads. Version 5.14.0 was released on 21 October 2026.

Negative reviews concern products that return no data when scanned, the app stalling on a loading or blank screen after certain updates (including after the iOS 26.1 update), the removal of custom shopping lists in a 2024 redesign, slow replies from proxy-shopping support, and translations that read unnaturally. The scanning function itself is generally well reviewed.

Suitable for: travellers who buy cosmetics, medicines, snacks or gifts in Japan, particularly those who need to check allergens or dietary restrictions. ZMH3HZVG may be entered through our link at registration at no cost, and points accumulated later may be used towards an eSIM.

The points may be disregarded by travellers who will not reopen the app after the trip, as points lapse after a year without activity. Even where another eSIM or roaming service has been arranged, the scanning and coupon functions remain worth keeping.