Mobile payments jumped 127 percent from a year earlier to NT$120.9 billion (US$4.15 billion) in the first seven months of the year, as consumers embraced contactless payment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed yesterday.
The use of mobile payment services, which enables consumers to pay their bills just by tapping their smartphones, has surged as people feel safer not having to hold cash or come into contact with devices that have been touched by other people.
As more consumers turn to mobile payment services, supermarket chain operator Pxmart Co Ltd (全聯實業) and state-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油), as well as several franchise shops and department stores have launched electronic wallets to boost consumer loyalty, the commission said.
Photo: Lee Ching-hui, Taipei Times
That some consumers chose to redeem their Triple Stimulus Vouchers via mobile payment services could also boost online transactions, the commission said.
Transactions made via electronic payment services — such as Jkos Pay operated by Jkopay Co (街口支付), and Line Pay Money offered by LINE Biz+ Taiwan Ltd (連加網路) and iPass Corp (一卡通票證) — totaled NT$45.6 billion in the first seven months, ranking first among the five types of mobile payment tools, the data showed.
E-payment transactions rose 3.18 times from NT$14.3 billion a year earlier, the fastest growth among the five tools, as more stores partnered with Jkopay or Line Pay Money, and more teenagers used the service to transfer money from bank accounts to e-payment accounts, the commission said.
It was the first time that transactions through e-payment services outperformed those via mobile credit cards, the data showed.
Mobile credit cards reported the second-largest transactions, with NT$36.6 billion in the first seven months, followed by mobile debit cards with NT$35 billion, mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) with NT$2.7 billion and electronic stored-value cards with NT$1 billion, the data showed.
Transactions via mobile debit cards reported the second-fastest growth of 2.59 times from NT$13.5 billion a year earlier, the commission said, attributing it to more banks promoting digital savings accounts by encouraging consumers to apply for debit cards and rewarding them with higher interest rates.
Although mobile payments still make up a comparatively small part of non-cash payments, which surpassed NT$3 trillion last year, they are expected to continue growing this year, the commission said.
Taiwan started mobile payment services in 2016, with accumulated transactions reaching NT$299.1 billion as of the end of July, the data showed.
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