For a nation of early adopters, Japan has been surprisingly slow to embrace cash alternatives; shopping online without a credit card means heading to a convenience store to complete your payment. But tech start-ups are now attempting to bridge the gap between consumers and credit.

Apple's proud introduction of Near Field Communication (NFC) payments on its new iPhone left customers a little confused in Japan. Mobile contactless payments have been the norm in Japan for a decade, with 44% of the population actively using mobile wallets.

Studies show that three quarters of us are born with the inclination to make poor spending decisions - spurring the creation of Japanese money management app PhotoMoney. And while it's not the first, developers believe it's unique enough to effectively alter spending habits.

Apple is hoping that Apple Pay, a tap-to-pay service integrated into the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, will help it dominate the $79.2 billion-a-year digital payments market. But can Apple succeed where so many have failed before, and truly replace our wallets with our phones?