The total of non-cash payments for private consumption might rise to NT$6 trillion (US$212.2 billion) in Taiwan in 2023, up from NT$3.85 trillion last year, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said on Thursday.
The commission had forecast that non-cash payments would reach 52 percent of the nation’s private consumption by the end of last year, but its data showed that it only accounted for 40 percent, Department of Planning Director-General Lin Chih-chi (林志吉) said.
The FSC has previously recorded payments by credit cards, stored-value cards such as EasyCard and iPass card, as well as electronic payment services Jkopay and Line Pay Money as non-cash payments, the commission said.
Photo: Chang Jing-ya, Taipei Times
Given that most online shops accept payment by ATM transfer, the FSC would from now on also consider some ATM transfers as non-cash payments for private consumption, the commission said.
“It was not easy to decide which ATM transfers should be booked as non-cash payments for consumption, but transfers from private to corporate accounts likely fulfill the criteria,” Lin said.
Among the total cross-bank ATM transfers of NT$9.4 trillion, NT$1.1 trillion, or 11 percent, were from private to corporate accounts, he said.
If these transfers were considered in last year’s data, non-cash payment for private consumption would be NT$4.95 trillion, or 51.5 percent of total payments, he said.
As more people prefer electronic payment tools and credit cards, non-cash payments might rise to NT$6 trillion in 2023, Lin said.
More non-cash payments would benefit the economy in multiple aspects, as non-cash tools are more transparent and efficient, and the cost of producing coins and paper money would drop, he said.
E-payment firms, including Jkopay Co (街口電子支付) and Line Biz+ Taiwan Ltd (連加網路), would later this year launch a cross-platform transfer mechanism, Lin said.
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