Taipei EasyCard Corp yesterday introduced its latest electronic wallet, which will allow users to check transaction records and cardholder registration online.
The two new functions will help the new IC EasyCard better prevent card theft and protect the rights of cardholders, as the company tries to promote the use of the cards as electronic wallets.
The company launched the EasyCard as an electronic wallet that can store up to NT$10,000 in value in 2010, and has been working to expand the use of the card from public transit to convenience stores and other stores.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
To encourage the public to “upgrade” their EasyCard, the company will offer free IC EasyCards to current card users until January next year. During that period, regular EasyCard holders can fill out application forms on the company’s Web site to receive the free cards.
The company will also accept applications at three EasyCard service centers at Taipei Railway Station, Banciao Railway Station and Songshan Railway Station every weekend. The on-site service will continue until Sept. 2.
Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Liu I-cheng (劉奕成) said if a cardholder loses the card, the company would be responsible for any balance loss six hours after the card was lost, due to the time it requires for the collection of transaction records.
In celebration of the launch of the IC EasyCard, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) lauded the company for its innovation and risk-taking, and said he expected the EasyCard to offer more services that can make people’s lives more convenient.
“Having an IC EasyCard is like carrying a mini-computer. You can look at personal information in the card, and won’t worry about losing the card,” he said yesterday during the launching ceremony at Taipei Railway Station.
To check one’s personal information and balance, cardholders can insert the card into ATM card readers and check the latest six transactions and transaction records for the previous three months.
The card is now accepted at convenience stores, major fast food chains and gas stations. The company is also looking into the possibility of integrating the cards with ATM cards, allowing cardholders to withdraw money from bank accounts and shop using the card.
Former company chairman Sean Lien (連勝文), son of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), also attended the ceremony, attracting media attention amid rumors he will run for Taipei mayor in 2014.
As the key figure who pushed for the e-wallet program during his time as company president, Sean Lien expressed his pride in the program while declining comment on the rumors.
“There are more important issues we should care about, and we shouldn’t be discussing something that is still two years away,” he said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS