The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday defended its decision to tighten controls on third-party electronic payment services after it cut short an adjustment period for operators, drawing criticism from industry observers.
On Tuesday, the commission announced that service providers must elevate identity authentication measures for clients to include their real names by Sept. 30 next year, which is 15 months earlier than the previous deadline of December 2018.
REAL NAMES
The commission is pushing for service providers to shift away from “weaker” authentication methods and is pushing for them to require customers’ real names, instead of linking accounts to mobile phone numbers.
In addition, the commission would ask that customers link electronic payment accounts to social media profiles, as well as an e-mail address.
The change would affect a number of payment services, including MacroWell OMG Digital Entertainment Co’s (OMG, 歐買尬) Allpay Financial Information Service Co Ltd (歐付寶), PChome Online Inc’s (網路家庭) PChomePay Inc (支付連), as well as Gamania Group’s (橘子集團) Gama Pay (橘子支).
‘FINTECH’
Industry and technology observers have said that the change would place even more drag on the nation’s slow adoption of third-party electronic and mobile payments and runs against regulators’ aims of promoting financial technology — “fintech” — and progress toward a cashless society.
The personal-data requirement would further delay service companies from launching payments services in the mass market, technology sector observers said.
The commission said that the December 2018 deadline was cited from a preview announcement of upcoming regulatory amendments.
TIME EXTENSION
It said that the new date had extended the adjustment timeframe for service providers, who would have been required to implement full, real-name registration as of Feb. 2 this year.
Service providers have been allotted more than two years to adjust for the change, as the requirement was announced on May 3, the commission said.
Critics also said that the commission’s proposed NT$5,000 (US$160) monthly limit would stifle development.
MONTHLY LIMITS
Monthly limits might be as high as NT$300,000 for accounts set up with the strongest authentication, the commission said.
The NT$5,000 limit only applies to accounts that are not linked to real names and that its stringent limit is designed to become tighter at three-month intervals as next year’s deadline approaches.
REVIEW COMING
It said that the additional requirements are needed to prepare the nation for a review by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering to take place in the final quarter of 2018 in light of the upheavals following state-run Mega Financial Holding Co’s (兆豐金控) troubles with US financial regulators.
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