The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday launched a NT$440 million (US$14.24 million) nationwide mobile payments rewards program in cooperation with several mobile payment service firms to stimulate domestic commerce as mobile payment options continue to lure Taiwanese.
Mobile payment transactions have increased more than threefold from NT$14.8 billion in 2017 to NT$47.8 billion last year, data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) showed.
The government-subsidized program involving Taiwan Pay, Line Pay, Jkos Pay (街口支付) and mobile wallet app Pi (Pi拍錢包) offers payment rewards of 15 to 20 percent with a maximum of NT$1,000 per account per month, the ministry said.
The rewards are redeemable through purchases made with the mobile payment systems at more than 200 shopping districts and stores nationwide, the ministry said.
The ministry has also provided another NT$300,000 in subsidies to encourage stores and shopping districts to develop distinguishing features to attract more consumers, it said.
The program would last until the end of the year and the rewards could vary depending on payment systems, time and region, it said.
However, some transactions such as deposits, cigarette purchases, bill payments, money transfers and fee collections are not included in the program, the ministry said.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in