Contactless transactions have gained popularity in the nation — accounting for 55 percent of total face-to-face payments last year — as other forms of digital payments are adopted, such as QR codes, a survey released by Visa Inc showed.
Local consumers performed contactless payments via cards, smartphones and wearables, the global credit-card company said.
“Contactless payments are now integral to the Taiwanese way of life, totaling 55 percent of all retail payments,” Visa country manager for Taiwan Marco Ma (麻少華) said on Wednesday last week.
The figure made Taiwan No. 4 in the Asia-Pacific region for contactless payments after Australia (91 percent), New Zealand (78 percent) and Singapore (76 percent), Visa said, adding that the government’s efforts to increase digital payments also lent support.
Point-of-sale terminals enabled for contactless transactions make up 62 percent of all acceptance points in the nation, Visa data showed.
In the availability of contactless payments in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan ranked second after Australia (91 percent), followed by Singapore (57 percent), India (41 percent) and Hong Kong (39 percent).
As many as 61 percent of respondents said they would like their cards to be capable of making contactless payments, while 74 percent wanted more retailers to accept contactless transactions, the survey showed.
The launch of smartphones and fitness wearables capable of making contactless payments has made the payment method more popular, Ma said, attributing part of the success to the adoption of international standards and interoperable specifications so that people can connect and pay electronically worldwide.
Visa last year saw a 450 percent growth in acceptance points in Asia alone, many of which are travel destinations frequented by Taiwanese, Ma said, citing Vietnam and Thailand as examples.
Taiwan’s tourism and economy would benefit from cross-border-enabled QR code payment acceptance, as contactless payments grow more popular, Ma added.
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