Online banking is becoming a key platform for banks, not just a sideline, a 104 Survey (104
Almost 53 percent of 3,013 respondents said they banked online last year and 44 percent of them used the service more than once a week, the survey found.
Forty percent of those who said they had not yet tried Internet banking said they would give it a try it in the future.
Meanwhile, the percentage of people who traded stocks or purchased mutual funds over the Internet ballooned from 14 percent to 31 percent in just one year.
"The advance in technology is changing consumers' banking behavior," said Kristy Lin (
"Information enquiries for foreign exchange rates, fund values and interest rates now account for 70 percent of visits to our online banking [site], while transactions account for 30 percent. In a few years that ratio is likely to be reversed," she said.
HSBC saw a 30 percent increase in online service users, while the penetration rate surged over the past year. At present, 78 percent of the bank's premier service clients conduct transactions over the Internet.
The poll indicates that combining bank transfers, brokerage services and fund subscriptions on one platform would significantly increase the "stickiness" of customers to a bank's Web site, as the most popular banks for Internet users are those with multiple functions and a user-friendly interface.
At a recent bankers association luncheon, Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) vice president Bruce Yang (楊豊彥) told the Taipei Times that his bank's online accounts doubled in a single year following its merger with the Central Trust Bureau (中信局), thanks to the launch of an online gold-bullion trading service.
"As the majority of consumers now are part of the e-generation [those aged between 20-40], we are seeing more clients who favor Internet services over face-to-face service in branch offices," Yuanta Bank (
However, many obstacles remain for banks venturing into online banking.
Security concerns remain the largest barrier for people who have yet to try online banking. Technical problems and lack of motivation because needs have been fulfilled by face-to-face services were also among the top reasons consumers have avoided online banking, HSBC said.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective