On 25 December 2020 the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the amendment to the “Act Governing Electronic Payment Institutions.” The amended Act will: (a) unify the formerly dualistic legal framework governing electronic payments and electronic stored value cards; (b) enhance the convenience of consumer payments; (c) build a friendly environment for the development of electronic payments and mobile payments in Taiwan; and (d) accelerate efforts to promote financial inclusion. The passage of this amendment marks a major milestone in our government’s effort to develop stored-value payments facilities. The amendment is designed to achieve the following four main benefits:
1.Integrating regulations governing stored-value facilities, and bringing their provisions in line with the trend toward integration of virtual and physical payment facilities.
2.Expanding the permissible business scope of electronic payment institutions, and creating a payments ecosystem with electronic payment institutions at the core.
3.Permitting inter-institution payment services to meet demand for inter-institution funds transfers and convenient sharing of channels.
4.Creating a regulatory environment that is friendly to development of industry, making Taiwan’s financial institutions more competitive, and preserving the competent authority’s regulatory flexibility.
By late-June 2021 the FSC will complete amendments of the related regulations and rules so that the amended Act and related regulations can be implemented in July 2021, thus ensuring that the public enjoys safe and convenient payment services, and promoting further development of Taiwan’s digital economy.