With growing popularity of mobile payment, the number of digital saving accounts in Taiwan topped over three million by the end of 2019 to 3.4 million, up 124% compared to 2018, the Central News Agency reported on February 6. Taiwan launched digital saving account service in the first quarter of 2016. By the end of 2019, Richart by Taishin International Bank was ranked the first with 1.79 million new digital saving accounts, followed by Cathay United Bank’s 465,000, and O-Bank’s 420,000. The significant increase is mainly due to the changing consumer behavior towards banking and shopping, and, most importantly, Taiwan’s approval of three internet-only banks: Line Bank, Rakuten Bank, and NEXT Bank. By January 2020, 70 foreign and local businesses have launched their own mobile payment app services in Taiwan, 50% of which are accepted at almost all merchants/retailers and 50% are accepted at selected merchants/retailers. In Taiwan, up to 98.3% of mobile payment users have at least five mobile payment apps on their phones, said MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute) industry analyst Robin Hu. Located in Taipei, MIC is a government think tank and major IT research institute in the Asia-Pacific region.

Three Internet-only Banks in Taiwan and Their Main Features

Source: Individual companies, compiled by MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), February 2020