Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) yesterday said it would soon launch a new mobile payment service that will allow shoppers to scan and buy goods with their smartphones.
The company said shoppers will be able to pay their bills simply by scanning the QR codes — squares made up of boxes and lines — of the products they are buying at point-of-sale machines in convenience stores and restaurants.
SHOPPING
Shoppers will also be able to scan the codes to pay taxi fares or purchase goods featured on shopping TV channels, said Joseph Kuo (郭逸樵), managing director of the value-added services department at Chunghwa Telecom’s mobile business group.
“We hope the new service can be online as soon as June,” Kuo said, adding that the company has partnered with several banks to apply for approval for the mobile service from the Financial Supervisory Commission.
TRIAL
Chunghwa launched a trial project in October last year that enabled smartphone users to pay for certain services simply by waving their phone at a sensor at point-of-sale machines.
Participants had to install a customized SIM card in their smartphones to be able to use the mobile payment service, which relies on near-field communications technology.
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