PChomePay Inc (支付連), a subsidiary of PChome Online Inc (網路家庭), yesterday launched a new online payment service linked with consumers’ bank accounts as part of PChome’s efforts to increase payment methods for online shopping.
PChomePay is the first payment company in Taiwan to launch an online payment service directly linked with consumers’ bank accounts, the firm said.
“We have been working on adding various online payment methods over the past three years. Payment services linked with bank accounts are the most convenient and safe way to transfer money via the Internet,” PChome chairman Jan Hung-tze (詹宏志) told a news conference.
Photo: Liao Chien-ying, Taipei Times
After a customer completes a bank account verification process designed by Taiwan Clearing House (台灣票據交換所), they do not need to enter the information again for future purchases, the company said.
The customer can select up to five different bank accounts and then choose one of the appointed accounts to pay for a purchase on PChome’s auction Web site subsidiary Ruten.com (露天拍賣), with the transaction only taking minutes, the company said in a statement.
These types of payment services are common in other countries and Taiwanese consumers can finally have access to them, Jan said.
“China’s Alipay [支付寶] has offered online payment services for 10 years, while Taiwan’s regulations were only eased in the past year. Taiwan’s online payment services must catch up with China’s in the next two to three years,” Jan said.
About 3.3 million people registered with PChomePay can use the payment service to purchase any of the more than 60 million products available on Ruten.com, PChomePay chief operating officer Su Yun (蘇芸) said.
Six domestic banks, including the Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank Ltd (上海商業儲蓄銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行), have signed up with PchomePay, Su said, adding that more domestic banks, including Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政), are set to join the platform in the first half of next year.
In addition, the company aims to expand the scope of its direct bank payment service to PChome’s other subsidiaries, such as PChome Store Inc (商店街市集) next year, she said.
PChome last month submitted an application to the Financial Supervisory Commission for a license to offer third-party payment services, she said.
If it receives approval from the commission, the company would start providing services for e-commerce buyers and sellers to transfer money or deposit money into their accounts to spend on online purchases, Su said.
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