Local Internet companies yesterday supported the Financial Supervisory Commission’s (FSC) stepping in to draw clauses of a draft act governing third-party payment services.
“We hope the commission can solve the current conflict and make the draft of the act on its own for the sake of Taiwan’s third-party payment service development,” several companies said in a joint statement.
The companies include Taiwan’s largest smart card company, EasyCard Corp (悠遊卡), video game company Cayenne Entertainment Technology Co (紅心辣椒) and Allpay Financial Information Service Co Ltd (歐付寶).
Allpay is operated by MacroWell OMG Digital Entertainment Co (茂為歐買尬數位科技), which teamed up with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (阿里巴巴) Alipay.com Co (支付寶) in the second half of last year.
Yesterday’s statement rebutted PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) chairman Jan Hung-tze’s (詹宏志) statement earlier this week asking for permission to have Internet companies draw up the draft act’s clauses.
The companies said it was inappropriate to assign the task to either the Bankers Association of the Republic of China (銀行公會) or the third-party payment services operators.
They said it might be a conflict of interest for either the Bankers Association or the e-commerce providers, if they were tasked to draw up the clauses.
Since the Cabinet requested the Ministry of Economic Affairs to draft a bill regarding third-party payment services in August 2012, the ministry has held three public hearings and the commission has also held four public hearings.
As a result, the companies said in the statement that the commission should step in to solve the controversy and to take charge of completing the act as soon as possible.
Taiwan’s progress in third-party payment services has already fallen behind international peers, such as those in the US and China, so the government should push forward legislation, the companies said.
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