- Commuters in both cities can tap to pay with their Visa cards or accounts in mobile devices or wearables. Near seven in ten of all face-to-face Visa transactions in Taiwan are contactless[1]
- Demand is strong: 76 percent of Taiwan commuters want to use credit or debit cards to pay for public transports[2]
Taipei, December
16, 2019 – Commuters can
enjoy a faster, simpler and more secure way to pay with Visa contactless at Taoyuan
Mass Rapid Transit System and Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System by January end next
year.
Commuters will
be able to “tap to pay” at Taoyuan Airport MRT and Kaohsiung Metro stations,
catering to daily commuters as well as inbound travelers. Contactless is
already a popular payment method in Taiwan with seven in ten of all
face-to-face Visa transactions in Taiwan carried out via contactless cards,
mobile devices and wearables.
Visa’s study
found that 76 percent of consumers in Taiwan want to use their credit or debit
cards to pay for public transport, higher than in Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan is
the latest market in Asia Pacific to implement contactless payments in mass
transit after Australia and Singapore. Tap to pay is also prevalent in these two
markets.
Marco Ma,
General Manager, Visa Taiwan said: “We are excited to bring contactless
payments to Taoyuan Airport MRT and Kaohsiung Metro. This is a key milestone
for digital payments in Taiwan as commuters have more choices to pay, whether
with their cards, mobile devices or wearables such as smart watches. There is
no need to pre-purchase ticket or stand in line to top up fare card. Contactless
payment is a safe and friction-free solution that has been adopted as the new
international standard around the world.”
According to Visa’s Consumer Payment Attitudes Study in 2019[3], the five main benefits for using Visa contactless at public
transports are “not having to prepare cash or top-up fare cards” (65 percent); “reduce
the number of cards in wallet” (51 percent); “collect reward points and air
mileage” (49 percent); “easier to track travel expenditure” (47 percent); and “transaction
speed” (41 percent).
Having a fast,
easy and secure way to get around Greater Taipei and Kaohsiung, the second
largest metropolis in Taiwan, is important as the two cities collectively serve
more than tens of millions riders per year.[4]
To deliver on
that promise, Visa continues to work closely with financial institutions,
merchants, transit agencies and partners to support contactless payment
products and solutions throughout the island.
Taoyuan Airport
MTR and Kaohsiung Metro joins transport operators from megacities around the
world, including New York, London, Rio, and Singapore, in enabling contactless
technology to improve the rider experience. Contactless payment adoption
continues to grow in Taiwan as more consumers experience the positive impact
tapping to pay can have on daily life.
Today
contactless-enabled point-of-sale terminals make up 64 percent of all
acceptance points in Taiwan, according to Visa’s data.[5] In Asia
Pacific, Taiwan ranks third after Australia (96 percent) and Singapore (85
percent) in the availability of contactless payments.
[2] “2019
Consumer Payment Attitudes Study” conducted by Intuit Research on behalf of
Visa surveyed 1,250 residents in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau in May 2019. The
annual study tracks and analyzes consumers’ perceptions, adoption, and
attitudes on digital payments.
[4] Based on data from Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp at 64.7 million
total ridership (2018) and Taoyuan Airport MRT’s 63 million total ridership
(2019).
Sources: https://corp.krtc.com.tw/eng/;
https://corp.krtc.com.tw/News/annual_report;
[5] VisaNet: June 2018