NFC TimesThe premier source for news, analysis and commentary on
Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Samsung Pay is expected to launch next month in Taiwan, followed by Android Pay, as the two global “Pays” wallets gear up to compete with Apple Pay on the island nation, NFC Times has learned.

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – TAIPEI, Taiwan: Apple launched its mobile payments service in Taiwan today, before the end of the month as expected, as the tech giant expands Apple Pay to its 15^th market globally.

NFC TIMES Exclusive – TAIPEI, Taiwan: A number of Taiwanese banks plan to enable customers to load their debit card credentials into an HCE-enabled mobile wallet app starting this month, following the launch last year by the banks of HCE-enabled credit card payments, NFC Times has learned.

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Taiwan’s EasyCard Corp., the operator of the country’s largest closed-loop transit and retail payments service, is working with a provider of Bluetooth-enabled mobile payments technology to offer customers an NFC-like experience to pay for rides and purchases in stores.

NFC TIMES Exclusive – TAIPEI, Taiwan: Apple will collect a cut of transaction fees from Taiwanese banks on credit card transactions that is around the same level as the tech giant takes from U.S. credit card issuers, when Apple Pay launches in Taiwan, expected later this month, NFC Times has learned.

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Two years after launch, Apple says Apple Pay users carried out hundreds of millions of transactions worth billions of dollars during the fourth quarter, Apple CEO Tim Cook told financial analysts Thursday, although Apple still doesn’t release actual transaction figures.

NFC Times Exclusive –  TAIPEI, Taiwan: At least six of Taiwan’s largest card issuers are lined up to participate in Apple Pay when it launches on the island nation, expected before the end of the first quarter, NFC Times has learned.

NFC Times Exclusive Insight – Far EasTone, one of Taiwan’s three major telcos, officially launched its mobile wallet Tuesday, offering a range of services and technologies as it prepares to compete with the coming of the “Pays” wallets, including Apple Pay, which is expected to launch in Taiwan in the first quarter.

NFC Times Exclusive – Sony Mobile has no plans to introduce its own payments service, choosing instead to work with local mobile payments service providers market by market, NFC Times has learned.

NFC Times Exclusive Insight – Samsung today disclosed plans in a local forum to launch Samsung Pay in Taiwan next year with several banks and a closed-loop payments service, iPASS, which could be used for transit fare collection. The launch is expected around the first quarter.