NO TOUCH: The use of contactless payment has soared as many see it as a ‘safer’ alternative to cash and other types of payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 02, 2020
By: Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporter

Mobile payments jumped 127 percent from a year earlier to NT$120.9 billion (US$4.15 billion) in the first seven months of the year, as consumers embraced contactless payment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed yesterday.

The use of mobile payment services, which enables consumers to pay their bills just by tapping their smartphones, has surged as people feel safer not having to hold cash or come into contact with devices that have been touched by other people.

As more consumers turn to mobile payment services, supermarket chain operator Pxmart Co Ltd (全聯實業) and state-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油), as well as several franchise shops and department stores have launched electronic wallets to boost consumer loyalty, the commission said.    [FULL  STORY]