People will soon be able to use Chunghwa Post’s Visa debit card to pay their medical bills or utility fees, the state-run company announced yesterday.
The company said that it is scheduled to join the government’s electronic payment processing platform on Wednesday next week, adding that the move would allow the company’s debit card holders to pay their medical bills, taxes and water bills.
Hospitals that are to accept the company’s debit card include National Taiwan University Hospital, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Mackay Memorial Hospital and Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, as well as 45 other hospitals nationwide.
People who have downloaded e-healthy pay (醫指付), an application used by members of the Taiwan Non-governmental Hospitals and Clinics Association, can also designate to have their medical expenses deducted from their Chunghwa Post debit card, the company said.
In addition to paying water bills, the company is working to allow people to use their debit card to also pay electricity and gas bills, the company said.
The company has issued 6.12 million debit cards, with 3.5 million being used regularly.
Meanwhile, the company is to introduce contactless debit cards next month to enhance the shopping experience of its customers.
Contactless card users could hold the card near a reader, which would then process the payment, Chunghwa Post spokeswoman Chien Liang-lien (簡良璘) said, adding that the new card would still allow account holders to deposit, transfer and withdraw funds,
A few of the nation’s big retailers have already installed the contactless card readers, including Watsons, Cosmed and Wellcome, Chien said.
Starting on Aug. 3, the company is to start accepting applications to upgrade to a contactless debit card, Chien said, adding that the service would be available free of charge at 24 post offices nationwide.
People who apply to switch to a contactless debit card would receive the new card on the day they file an application, instead of having to wait three to five days, she said.
All post offices would be ready to accept applications to switch to contactless cards by Sept. 3, Chien said, with 353 of them issuing cards on the day of the application.
The daily limit for the debit card is NT$60,000, the firm said.
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