Imagine a credit card with no preset spending limit that allows you to buy a car, a yacht or even an estate. You can probably get one provided you earn NT$3 million a year and are willing to fork over a NT$20,000 annual fee.
Taishin International Bank's (台新銀行) new Visa Infinite card (無限卡) "will be by invitation only," said Eric Wu (吳東亮), chairman of Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控), at a launching ceremony for the card yesterday afternoon.
Wu said that the first targeted pool of potential cardholders will be from the bank's wealth management clients, who have an annual income of over NT$3 million.
Four Infinite cards were given to yesterday's honorary guests including Rosemary Ho (
Visa Infinite cardholders will enjoy benefits such as travel insurance coverage as high as NT$50 million, free parking in some 50 parking lots, free entry to some cultural activities and 24-hour concierge services that can help to arrange parties and banquets free of charge, Daniel Tsai (蔡孟峰), general manager of the holding company's retail banking group, said at the same ceremony.
The bank charges an annual fee of NT$20,000 for the card, Tsai said.
The cards are a prestige issue, giving users big face as only 20,000 Infinite cards have been issued globally. Taishin is the first bank in Asia to issue the cards.
Visa International's Clark said that the Infinite card caters to the needs of the top 1 percent of the highest spending consumers worldwide. The bank estimates the number of potential cardholders in Taiwan at around 100,000.
Visa International's research showed that the typical Infinite cardholder is a professional or entrepreneur between the ages of 35 and 54, earning at least US$100,000 a year.
William Fong (
"The card will help boost the bank's transaction income," Fong said.
"Even though other banks provide similar wealth-management products, there's still a lot of room for growth," he said.
The card launch coincides with Taishin opening its newly renovated flagship wealth-management center in Taipei.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS