86% of Taiwanese prefer mobile payments to cash: Visa
Visa’s latest study has shown that 86% of Taiwanese prefer to make purchases with their mobile wallets over cash. In the Asia-Pacific market, the rate stands at 85%; at 82% in Singapore; at 78% in Hong Kong; and at 83% in China. The preference for mobile payments indicates that there is a strong market for mobile commerce in Taiwan. The high smartphone penetration in the region is likely the reason, as 83% of Taiwanese use their mobiles for browsing products; 71% for making purchases; and 55% for researching a product or service for business reasons.

The latest Visa study reveals that as high as 86 percent of Taiwanese would prefer making purchases with mobile wallets rather than cash, an above-average rate among the Asia-Pacific region.



According to the survey, 86 percent of Taiwanese would prefer to use their personal smartphones for payment, higher than the average rate of 85 percent among the Asia-Pacific markets and the nation’s major rivals in the region, including Singapore (82%), Hong Kong (78%), and China (83%), indicating high awareness among Taiwanese consumers of contactless payment solutions.



Strong preference for mobile payment suggests that there is great potential for mobile commerce in Taiwan, said Macro Ma, Visa International country manager in Taiwan.



High smartphone penetration rates in Taiwan is one of the main reasons for the nation’s high mobile payment acceptance, as a lot of Taiwanese consumers also use smartphones for browsing products (83%), comparing prices (71%), making purchases (63%), and research a product or service for their business (55%), according to the survey.



On the other hand, 54 percent of Taiwanese respondents said they would turn around and head back home if they forgot their cellphones, lower than that in Hong Kong and South Korea, in which 65 percent of the people surveyed said they would go back home to fetch their phones.

