Visa Inc yesterday introduced a new mobile payment service targeting local small businesses and wet market stalls that do not accept credit cards, saying that it would be an easier alternative to cash transactions.
The US-based financial services provider has partnered with nine local banks and Taiwan Pay, a government-initiated mobile payment service, for the new service, Visa deputy country manager Eric Wang (王正平) told a news conference in Taipei.
Holders of Visa cards issued by any of the nine banks can scan the merchants’ QR codes placed on stickers or labels by using the lenders’ digital wallets, Wang said.
The new service would apply to 15 million consumers, he said.
The number of merchants accepting Visa’s QR code payment methods had grown to more than 9,000 as of the end of last month, Wang said.
Many merchants do not accept credit cards, as some of them are wet market stalls, such as fishmongers or flower vendors, and they are accustomed to taking cash, he said.
Some others are small shops that do not want to pay handling fees to banks, Wang said.
However, they are willing to use QR code payments as consumers embrace the contactless payment method, he said.
An online survey conducted by Visa in May showed that 49 percent of Taiwanese used QR payment methods, higher than 28 percent in Hong Kong and 10 percent in Macau, as they view it as a more convenient, safer and cleaner payment method.
A QR code is more convenient for merchants, as they do not need to install a near-field communication device or a credit-card reader, instead, they only need to place a sticker for customers to scan with their smartphones, Wang said.
Merchants still have to pay handling fees, but many of them have said that it is worth adopting the new payment method, as they would not need to manage cash, he said.
The nine banks are Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行), Taishin International Bank (台新銀行), Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan Ltd (渣打台灣銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行), Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) and Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀).
Visa is in talks with other banks, but it might need more time to reach an agreement, as some lenders still value their digital wallets and are more conservative about cooperation with others, Wang said.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
RSS