FSC Paves Way for Taiwanese Bank Cards to be Accepted by China's Retailers and ATMs

 Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) recently announced  allowing Financial Information Service Co. (FISC) to provide message transfer and clearance services of domestic banks' chip-integrated cards  compatible with China UnionPay system, to be effective within one month  after the Legislature passes the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement (CSTSA).

While the legislators argue over the agreement, which, once passed, will enable Taiwanese to use the cards to withdraw renminbi from some 530,000 automatic teller machines (ATM) in China, purchase goods at 6.9 million contracted shops there, and withdraw cash from from 1.08 million ATMs globally marked with UnionPay.

FISC is a Taiwan government-linked firm aiming to provide financial institutions with better and more flexible interbank operations and services, with shareholders including Ministry of Finance and 42 public and private financial institutions.

K. M. Chang, deputy director general of Banking Bureau under FSC, says that FISC can now start negotiating with China UnionPay about setting up  common platform for the said cards, and that once approved by the Legislature, FSC will immediately allow China UnionPay to establish a branch in Taiwan and domestic banks to float UnionPay chip cards.

To attract more Chinese mainlanders to Taiwan, FSC has allowed stores on the island since July 2009 to accept UnionPay cards, for online shopping in January 2010, and ATM withdrawal since May 2010.

Taiwanese bank cards are not  accepted by retailers in China nor ATMs. Chang, quoting statistics released by China's tourism bureau, indicates that Taiwanese tourists in China have spent about US$27.7 billion in the last five years, equaling US$5.5 billion or about NT$165 billion on average a year, transactions of which would be far easier once the Legislature passes the CSTSA. (JL)