Passengers should be able to pay for rides on the Taipei MRT using credit cards or Apple Pay’s express contactless protocol (ECP) beginning in July next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday.
New payment methods would undergo phased launch tests and transaction security checks by acquiring banks and international card organizations, the company said in a statement.
After the launch, passengers would be able to tap their credit cards directly, or use mobile payments such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay linked to a credit card, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp
The cards would be used the same way as standard EasyCards, with them being read upon entrance at an MRT station and then having the appropriate fare deducted upon exit.
The ECP system is still under development by Apple and participating banks, and would be rolled out once testing is completed, currently set for July next year.
In addition, starting next month, the Taipei MRT and city bus systems would accept QR code payments through commonly used electronic payment services in Taiwan, including TWQR, Easy Wallet, iPass Money, icash Pay, JKOPay, Taishin Pay, ESun Wallet, PXPay Plus, Plus Pay and Line Pay, TRTC said.
A project to update and replace the Taipei MRT’s ticket gates to make them accessible for QR code payments was completed on schedule in October, with 1,396 main units and 2,361 payment boxes installed, it said.
The new payment options will give passengers greater flexibility, reduce time spent buying tickets, and cut down on cash transactions, it said.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS