From next month, people who ride on the Taoyuan Airport Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system can use credit cards issued by Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc, the two firms said.
The move is Mastercard’s latest effort to expand its payment services after it formed an exclusive partnership with the Kaohsiung MRT system early this year, while Visa is expanding into the two markets for the first time.
Mastercard expects many foreign tourists to use a credit card when taking the Taoyuan Airport MRT to avoid the hassle of waiting in line to buy tickets, MasterCard Taiwan business development director Mei Liu (劉美慧) told a media briefing in Taipei.
Given that about 20 percent of passengers on the airport MRT line are traveling between Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the company expects credit card payments to rapidly increase over the short term, Liu said.
Although many local passengers use EasyCards, the company expects some locals to use credit cards because they offer higher rewards than the Easycard, Liu added.
People can tap their credit cards at the gates leading to the platform or scan their mobile device after entering their card information into a mobile app such as Apple Pay, the companies said.
Contactless payment is a safe and convenient solution that has been increasingly used throughout the world, as it eliminates the need to stand in line to purchase train tickets, the companies added.
“We are excited to bring contactless payments to the Taoyuan Airport MRT and Kaohsiung MRT systems. This is a key milestone for digital payments in Taiwan, as people have more payment options, including credit cards, mobile devices or wearables such as smart watches,” Visa Taiwan general manager Marco Ma (麻少華) said in a statement.
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