Last week, due to well-known things, everyone was very concerned about the relevant situation in Taiwan, and many payment practitioners even half-jokingly stated that they would open Taiwan's payment-related business.

Last week, due to well-known things, everyone was very concerned about the relevant situation in Taiwan. Many payment practitioners even half-jokingly stated that they would open Taiwan's payment-related business. So today let’s talk about what Taiwan’s payment market is like and what things to pay attention to when going to Taiwan to conduct business.

What is the Taiwan payment market like?

According to the latest data announced by the Taiwan "Ministry Commission", as of the end of May 2022, there were 33 credit card issuing institutions in Taiwan, with a total of about 53.66 million circulating cards and a total of about 34.23 million valid (active) cards. According to Taiwan’s population of approximately 23.41 million, the number of credit cards per capita is 2.29. The average credit card and loan integrated card per person in mainland China hold 0.57.

In terms of per capita saturation of credit cards, Taiwan is 4 times that of mainland China, a more mature credit card market. In terms of overdue payment, the amount of overdue payment of Taiwan credit cards for more than 3 months accounts for about 0.19%. This week, the first quarter payment system report released by the People's Bank of China showed that 1.09% of credit cards in mainland China were overdue for more than half a year. Taiwan’s overdue situation is better than that of the mainland.

Taiwan credit card overdue rate (11006 refers to June 2021)

Merchants, the number of merchants in Taiwan that support credit cards is 237,000. According to feedback from Taiwanese readers of Mobile Payment Network, the data of other POS machines and merchants in Taiwan is relatively slim, and the support for small vendors to scan QR code payment is difficult to count, so the official did not publish more accurate data. In the mainland, the latest number of UnionPay is 27.1142 million.

Taiwan’s payment rate is close to international payment rate, and cashing out is not worth it, so everyone doesn’t have to worry about how to play cash out. In terms of electronic payment, as of the end of May 2022, the number of users of Taiwan's electronic payment account was 17.6 million, and 75.1% of the population had electronic payment accounts.

Mobile payment in Taiwan is also developing rapidly. Data from Taiwan’s “Ministry Commission” at the end of 2021 shows that Taiwan has 540 digital deposit accounts per 1,000 adults, an increase of 62.65% over 2020. Among them, Taiwan has an average of 2.43 million mobile payment transactions per 100,000 adults, and on average, each person makes 24.3 mobile payments per year.

The data in mainland China is that in 2021, banks processed 151.228 billion mobile payment transactions, which is an average of 107 times per person a year. The non-bank payment institution handles online payment services of 1028.322 billion, with an average of 727 times per person per year. Of course, these two data are for reference only, and there are differences in statistical dimensions.

This shows that Taiwan’s mobile payment market still has a lot of room for growth.

In terms of institutional competition, as of the end of May 2022, there were 11 specialized in electronic payment institutions and 20 also engaged in electronic payment institutions in Taiwan. Compared with a region with a population of 23.41 million, the competition is quite fierce.

How to make payment business to Taiwan

In the past two days, a picture has been circulated in the payment industry, that is, it seems that in the real-name authentication steps of a payment institution, it is added to the network access option in Taiwan.

Whether it is a joke or if this is true, let’s talk about how to operate payment business licensed in Taiwan.

There are two situations: one is to follow the current payment supervision system of the People's Bank of China, and the other is to conform to the idea of ​​", one country, two systems " and respect the local financial system.

The first type is operated in accordance with the current payment supervision system of the People's Bank of China. According to the current payment license system, first of all, payment institutions need national bank card collection qualifications; secondly, they need to report.

According to Article 44 of the "H Bank Card Acquisition Business Management Measures ", if a payment institution intends to establish a branch to carry out Acquisition business , it shall file with the branch of the People's Bank of China in advance and the branch of the People's Bank of China in the place where the legal person is located and the branch of the People's Bank of China in the place where the branch is planned to be established.If you need to develop your business in Taiwan, you need to go to China Payment and Clearing Association to register for the collection outsourcing agency. According to the different types of business, you can apply for special merchant recommendations, acceptance logo posting, special merchant maintenance, acceptance terminal layout and maintenance, aggregate payment technical services and other types.

However, these two steps are not too difficult. The more difficult thing is how to set up a Taipei branch of the People's Bank of China in Taiwan, and then each institution can apply for filing.

The second type is integrated into the local financial system. In line with the vision of "one country, two systems", Taiwan's future financial system may maintain more status quo, just like Hong Kong today.

In the establishment of payment institutions, Taiwan implemented the "Regulations on the Management of Electronic Payment Institutions" in May 2015, which clarified the regulatory requirements for collecting and paying on behalf of others, operating stored value funds, electronic payment accounts and other businesses. In contrast, this is a bit like the mainland's bank card collection, prepaid cards, Internet payment and other businesses.

In July 2021, the newly revised "Regulations on the Management of Electronic Payment Institutions" was implemented, expanding the scope of electronic payment services and allowing payment institutions to operate cross-border exchange business. This is more like the Hong Kong MSO (Money Service Operator) license.

However, the threshold for applying for a Taiwan payment license is quite high. The actual registered capital of collection and payment is NT$100 million (about NT$22.52 million); the operating reserved value is NT$500 million (about NT$112.6 million). In addition, after applying for a license, its business volume reaches a certain scale within the specified time, so that the license can be put into the pocket.

, and Taiwan is also sensitive to foreign investment. Previously, in November 2020, Xiapi Pay applied for a Taiwan payment license with a registered capital of NT$5 million, which required NT$500 million to complete. However, there was a foreign capital remittance during the capital increase process, and the license was abolished without passing the review of the local government of Taiwan.

Perhaps it is difficult for mainland payment business. Everyone is eager for an incremental market, so they are so hot about "some or not". The cross-strait relationship that is thicker than water still depends on commercial connection.