Taiwan’s Heavy Reliance On Non-Digitalised Payments Market Outlook: Ken Research

As China leads the way into becoming the world’s first cashless economy and other countries try to catch up, Taiwan is lagging behind. According to the study, ‘Payments Landscape In Taiwan: Opportunities And Risks To 2022’, Taiwan’s e-commerce market is one of the fastest growing in Southeast Asia and is driven by the rise in internet and smartphone penetration. Behind the growth of e-commerce payments are the multiple payment methods provided by e-commerce websites including payment cards, direct debits, cash or card on delivery, bank transfer and digital and mobile wallets. Despite this, for an average person living in the country paper money and plastic bank cards are still an indispensable part of daily routine.

Cash continues to be the preferred mode of consumer payment accounting for nearly four-fifth of the overall payment transaction volume in 2016. It has been observed that consumers in Taiwan have a strong inclination towards cash for day-to-day transactions despite the gradual rise in electronic payments. Currently, in Taiwan only a proportion of the population slightly greater than one-tenth has noticeably begun using mobile payments, significantly lagging behind its Asian peers. A recent research report showed that mainland China is leading in mobile payment adoption accounting for three-fifth of the worldwide user base in 2018.

India has seen a three-fourth increase in the number of users in the past two years and has become the world’s fastest growing mobile payment market. Taiwan’s slow adoption is a bitsurprising considering the fact that its economy took off decades earlier than mainland China and other South East Asian countries. On top of this, Taiwan’s smartphone penetration is one of the highest in the world and is expected to reach more than nine-tenth of the population shortly. Further, studies show that the country is not lacking any resource in order to adopt digital payments. Apart from these observations, the data also shows that nearlyfour-fifth of the population has access to mobile internet.

Debit cards remain the preferred payment cards among Taiwanese consumers evident by the findings from 2016 which revealed that debit card penetration in Taiwan was the highest compared to other regional countries. 

Taiwan was followed by Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong. As debit cards are offered as complimentary products with current accounts, the large banked population in Taiwan has led to the high debit card penetration. Although small, the credit cards market recently registered the highest growth in terms of both transaction volume and values. This growth can be attributed to the steady rise in the middle class and young working population. It was also supported by a rise in consumer awareness of the benefits of credit cards such as deferred payments, in paying installments and cash back. Taiwanese consumers are increasingly using credit cards for recurring payments such as utility fees, school tuition, insurance premiums and taxes.

The general public is however, knowledgeable and keen to try out the new payment methods. According to research, more than three-fifth consumers in Taiwan are aware of NFC (near-field communication) which is the underlying technology behind many popular mobile payment services including Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. The public is being supported by the government as the government of Taiwan has been promoting electronic payments through initiatives such as the Act Governing Electronic Payments Institutions, the launch of the Digital Banking 3.0 Plan to enable credit card payments for government agency fees and taxes along with the establishment of a fintech office and dedicated fund.

Taiwan has a long way to go to be recognized as a hub for digital payments. The country currently has heavy reliance on paper money however, the extensive use of plastic bank cards especially debit cards helps to promote digital payments. Government efforts coupled with the public’s expanding knowledge base are believed to soon transform Taiwan’s payment sector.

For more information on the research report, refer to below link:-

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/payments-landscape-taiwan/152761-93.html

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