China Unionpay (中國銀聯) began bank card transaction services in Taiwan yesterday, allowing cardholders to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines (ATMs) nationwide with a maximum of 10,000 yuan (US$1,474) per day.
“The launch of the service will not only boost the consumption of Chinese tourists in Taiwan, but it will also promote local tourism,” Chao Yang-ching (趙揚清), chairwoman of the Financial Information Service Co (FISC), said during a service launch ceremony in Taipei.
Chao said that more than 16,100 ATMs out of about 25,600 in Taiwan can provide these transaction services, which are available at the nation’s most popular tourists attractions such as the National Palace Museum and Taipei 101.
“A process fee of around NT$32 will be charged per transaction,” she added.
The Bankers Association of the ROC (銀行公會) said that each China Unionpay cardholder can withdraw up to 10,000 yuan per day with a maximum of NT$20,000 per transaction, making things more convenient for Chinese tourists who are only allowed to bring in a certain amount of cash when entering the country.
Xu Luode (許羅德), chief executive officer and president of China Unionpay, told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony that around 2.2 billion Unionpay bank cards are in circulation, generating a turnover of around 7.7 trillion yuan a year.
When asked when Taiwanese tourists will be able to withdraw cash from ATMs using Taiwanese bankcards in China, Xu said: “I think, in principle, it should be no problem, but technical problems need to be resolved first. Currently, there’s no timetable for it, but both sides intend to push for it.”
A total of 18 local banks participated in the project, including the Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一商業銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南商業銀行), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化商業銀行), Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) and Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀).
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last