I want to use contactless payment (Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.) with my phone like a cash card (Easycard, etc.). I don’t want to add a credit card to the contactless service.
Does Easycard or any service offer the capability in Taiwan?
Basically, use phone like Easycard with NFC to hold phone over scanner and it deducts the payment.
How to do?
Put the Easycard in the back of your phone case.
OK maybe the question wasn’t clear.
What services are available in Taiwan to use phone as a cash card? Not as a credit card or debit card.
Looks like phone payment in Taiwan is current only possibly if backed by credit card or debit card.
No Easycard, cash card, etc. phone payment i.e. cannot add cash to phone to use as payment.
I guess also means cannot use as payment on public transportation.
Apple has not authorized Easycard or any cash card capability.
Your phone can not make its own money yet, so it always needs to be backed by a card.
Good point, but a phone can make money if you know how. Just check all the repetitive youtube travel videos made on a phone.
Other countries have authorized phone use as a cash card. Taiwan government is apparently holding out.
With the oBike, you can use the phone (the oBike app) as a stored value app to pay for the use of oBikes. You top it up in cash at your local convenience store, and some code is sent to your app confirming payment or something like that. Thus it’s not connected to your card.
Interesting. Wonder if it’s truly stored value, or put into their account at some bank when cash added at convenience store and then deducted from that account as used?
And where does the money come from? A payment needs to backed by something. Your service provider will bill you.
Tokyo for example the phone is the same as Easycard. Instead of adding money to cash card, you add money to phone. Also used for public transport or anything that accepts cash card.
No credit or debit card needed.
Uses NFC (Near-field communication).
You add money to your phone card chip in your phone if that’s enabled, you always need to put money somewhere. There is no free money from your phone.
How does Line pay work? Backed by a credit card.
Nothing’s ever free in life.
Edit: Or maybe connected directly with bank account.
How does Taiwanpay work?
Not sure but pulled this from their website via Google translate “integrated with credit card”. Seems to be more of a billing platform. But I’m really not sure.
I’ve been using Taiwanpay for a while now and this is what I’ve learned:
It’s Taiwanese banks’ answer to Apple Pay etc.
You can link your bank’s visa debit card or a credit card to make contactless payments.
It’s now accepted by all the convenience stores and Welcome. I’m not sure about other companies but they are obviously looking to expand.
I’ve always paid with the app’s QR code; however, the first time I ever used it - in Family Mart - the attendant used the NFC method. I’ve tried that twice since but shop assistants always insist on the QR code, so maybe they’re not aware or it was a rip in the space time continuum that enabled NFC to work.
You can check your bank balance via the app as well as pay bills. I haven’t figured out the bills payment part yet.
Overall, I think it’s a good app in terms of being able to make contactless payments for the banks that don’t use the likes of Apple/Google/Samsung Pay. Also, depending which bank card you have, some of the aforementioned payment apps only work in certain stores due to stupid exclusivity deals Apple/Google/Samsung, the banks and the stores have. With Taiwan Pay, it works with any bank card in any store that accepts it.
My only gripe about the app is that it’s Chinese language only. I think it would definitely show a more user friendly attitude - considering all the banks are partners in it and have the resources - if it were in other languages although nothing can beat the megabank apps for looking like they were coded in the dark ages. It seems that quite a lot of local banks reject the international options like Apple/Google/Samsung pay, but in building their own model, only have local customers in mind.
My gripe aside, it is definitely better to have it than not, and at least you can sign up if you figure it out. With Line Pay, I can’t even get past registration because only local id will do. They always reject my ARC.
Edit: just checked the most recent participating banks with Apple/Google/Samsung pay. It seems like I should just change banks!
So does Apple/Google(Android)/Samsung pay.
OK, didn’t get as far as your edit, sorry. But not all banks are working with Taiwan Pay yet.