TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s credit card spending hit a record NT$788.7 billion (US$24.49 billion) in June, the Financial Supervisory Commission said Tuesday.
About NT$270 billion in tax payments were posted to credit cards in June after the May tax filing season, per CNA. Credit card spending totaled NT$2.88 trillion in the first half of the year, also a record high for the period.
June spending jumped 100.3% from a year earlier, mainly because income tax payments were posted in July last year, creating a lower comparison base. At the end of June, Taiwan had 32 credit card issuers, with about 59.81 million cards in circulation and 40.11 million active cards.
E.Sun Bank, CTBC Bank, Cathay United Bank, Taishin Bank, and Bank SinoPac had the highest credit card spending in June, per Anue. Cathay United Bank issued the most new cards during the month, with 220,000, mainly because co-branded cards with Formosa Plastics were being replaced before their contracts expired at the end of July.
Electronic payment accounts totaled about 41.13 million in June, up 360,000 from the previous month, while transactions processed through electronic payment institutions was NT$29.65 billion, down NT$2.22 billion month-on-month. Line Pay Money remained the leading electronic payment service by transaction value from March through June, while JKoPay had the most users at 7.3 million.
The FSC said it aims to reach eight billion non-cash payment transactions worth NT$10 trillion this year, with 4.6 billion transactions worth NT$5.15 trillion recorded in the first half.
FSC Banking Bureau Deputy Director-General Wang Yun-chung (王允中) said he was optimistic about meeting the target. He noted that the large number of small-value transactions explains why volume is growing fast.
