State-run First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), the main source of income for First Financial Holding Co (第一金控), yesterday unveiled a mobile app that allows clients to pay assorted bills and transfer money via their smartphone.
The app comes after the lender began cooperating in December last year with Taiwan Mobile Payment Co (台灣行動支付公司) to launch a mobile payment platform, with a view to increasing its client base by attracting smartphone users.
“It is too early to tell how many clients or how much revenue the app will bring in,” said Apple Chang (張紋貞), deputy manager at the electronic service department.
Rather, the bank is seeking to lay down the necessary infrastructure to tap the business opportunities that arise from the prevalent use of smartphones, Chang said.
Taiwan Mobile Payment said it expects the platform to attract NT$10 billion (US$314.86 million) in transactions via smart cards and smartphones over the next three years, with the e-commerce market valued at NT$70 billion.
First Commercial Bank aside, 12 other lenders have launched a mobile payment service via a locally developed app, Chang said.
The mobile payment app is limited to Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) subscribers for paying utility, water and other bills, as well as shopping bills of less than NT$3,000 at 1,700 commercial facilities, such as hypermarket chain A-Mart (愛買量販) and Kingstone Bookstores (金石堂), said Kuo Kun-sheng (郭坤昇), head of the electronic banking division.
Convenience store chain Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店) is to join the fold by the end of the year, Kuo said.
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