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eMoney News

Contactless smart cards rising in popularity in Taiwan
27 Apr 2010

A Taipei-based company hopes to boost the number of users of its contactless smart card by integrating it with the I Pass transit cards used on Kaohsiung City's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system.

That is according to news provider Focus Taiwan, which reports that EasyCard Corporation expects the number of transactions using its smart cards to increase following the move.

Sean Lien, chairman of the company, noted that more than 10,000 payments are currently made using the EasyCards already in circulation every day.

He also expressed his hopes that this number would be boosted by ten per cent before the end of the year, something that the opening of a new service counter for customers in Kaohsiung could aid.

There are currently 18 million EasyCards in circulation, which can be used for payments of under NT$1,000 (£20) and on the various transit networks.

The contactless smart cards are similar to those on offer in the UK, such as the sQuidcard, which can be used on travel networks, in shops and in school canteens.