Next Commercial Bank Co (將來商業銀行) yesterday said that nearly 60,000 people had opened accounts since it commenced operations at the end of last month, with the average deposit more than NT$70,000 (US$2,374).
The nation’s third Web-only bank had allowed people to choose their own bank account numbers before it launched on March. 29, gaining about 40,000 accounts as of the end of last month, bank data showed.
The momentum continued this month, with people welcoming the new services, it said.
Photo: Lee Ching-hui, Taipei Times
Fifty-three percent of account holders chose their own bank account numbers, while 42 percent used their phone number as their account number, it said.
“It seems that many people prefer to memorize only one set of numbers, so there might be an increase in people using phone numbers as a digital identity number,” Next Bank said.
People in two age groups — 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 — each made up one-third of its account holders, the bank said, adding that about 1,000 people who just turned 20 opened accounts “to embrace their adulthood.”
Accounts are available for people aged 7 to 18, but young people face more restrictions from the Financial Supervisory Commission, including a requirement to submit a parent’s national ID card, Next Bank added.
Some people older than 70 opened accounts, it said.
Its services are widespread and highly competitive, although people in Taipei and nearby urban areas make up 53 percent of its account holders, it said.
The average deposit of NT$70,000 might be because Next Bank’s rewards for new account holders are attractive, it said.
To celebrate a month of operations, Next Bank said it would offer more rewards, including 5 percent of a purchase amount in reward points for account holders who pay with a bank debit card.
For account holders who spend more than NT$1,688 with their debit card, the interest rate on their deposits could be increased to as much as 3 percent for 30 days, it said.
Separately, Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) labeled Next Bank “stable,” with a short-term credit rating of “twA-1” and a long-term rating of “twA+.”
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
RSS