The Taipei EasyCard Corp and President Chain Store Corp are joining forces to introduce the i-Cash EasyCard by October to expand the use of the EasyCard to the nation’s 4,800 7-Eleven convenience stores, the two companies announced yesterday.
The i-Cash EasyCard will combine the functions of the MRT’s EasyCard and the i-Cash Card or electronic wallet offered by President Chain Store Corp.
Users of the i-Cash EasyCard will be able to pay for their purchases at 7-Eleven stores with the card and pay for travel on Taipei’s MRT and other public transportation systems.
MULTIFUNCTIONAL
The i-Cash EasyCard will be the first multifunctional electronic cash card to hit the market following the legislature’s passage of the Act on Issuance and Management of Electronic Monetary Cards (電子票證發行管理條例) in January.
Sean Lien (連勝文), chairman of Taipei EasyCard Corp, said yesterday that he expected the collaboration with President Chain Store Corp to help expand the EasyCard customer base to central and southern Taiwan.
“Our goal is to make people’s lives more convenient, and the i-Cash EasyCard will definitely bring convenience to users because they will be able to pay for many things using a single card,” he told a press conference at Taipei’s Westin Hotel.
PERMISSION
Lien said the two companies had applied to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) for permission to issue the joint card, and the launch date depends on the commission drawing up of the regulations to implement the act.
President Chain Store Corp president Hsu Chung-jen (徐重仁) said the company would work out the features of the new card, including whether the i-Cash bonus system will be applied to the new card, as soon as the commission finalizes the rules.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) lauded the cooperation of the two firms in offering the new card, saying he expected it to be used in more places in the future.
VALUE
Cardholders will be able to put as much as NT$9,999 on the i-Cash EasyCard and use the card at stores owned by President Chain, including Starbucks and Cosmed.
There are more than 15 million EasyCards in circulation, while the number of i-Cash Card in circulation has reached 7.4 million.
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