Article Content
Chapter 1 General Provisions
| Article 1 | These Regulations are enacted pursuant to Paragraph 3, Article 15 of the Act Governing Electronic Payment Institutions (hereinafter referred to as the "Act" hereunder). |
| Article 2 | The terms as used in these Regulations are defined as follows:
1. "Foreign institution" shall mean an institution that is organized and registered in other country or region (including Mainland Area) and engages in business equivalent to the electronic payment business under the Act.
2. "Approved institution" shall mean an institution approved by the competent authority to cooperate with or assist foreign institutions in engaging in activities associated with electronic payment business inside the Republic of China ("ROC").
3. "Electronic payment businesses" shall mean businesses specified in Paragraph 1, Article 4 of the Act.
4. Fund transfer clearing services:
(1) "Domestic funds transfer clearing services institution" shall mean a domestic financial information service institution engaging in inter-institution funds transfer and clearing services set out in Article 8 of the Act.
(2) "Foreign funds transfer clearing services institution" shall mean an institution outside the ROC that engages in business equivalent to inter-institution funds transfer clearing services in the ROC.
5. "Data processing service provider" shall mean data processing service providers that provide the services of collecting and making payments for cross-border online real transactions as an agent and have obtained a recommendation from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
6. "Foreign institution's payment account" shall mean a payment instrument of a foreign institution provided to its users which is equivalent to the electronic payment account set out in the Act.
7. "Foreign institution's registered stored value card" shall mean a registered payment instrument provided by the foreign institution to the user with function equivalent to stored value cards set out in the Act.
8. "Customer" shall mean payment recipients or payers in the ROC that accept the services of an approved institution. |
| Article 3 | The following institutions may apply for approval to cooperate with or assist foreign institutions in engaging in activities associated with electronic payment business within the territory of the ROC:
1. Electronic payment institutions.
2. Banks not engaging concurrently in electronic payment business.
3. Data processing service providers. |
| Article 4 | The scope and modes of an approved institution cooperating with or assisting foreign institutions in engaging in activities associated with electronic payment business within the territory of the ROC are as follows:
1. Provide customers with the service of collection and payment of funds to be remitted in or out for cross-border online real transactions.
2. Provide recipient customers with the service of collecting inbound payment funds paid by foreign natural persons through a foreign institution's payment account or a foreign institution's registered stored value card for real transactions conducted at offline distribution channels in the ROC.
3. Provide payer customers with the service of remitting outbound payment funds collected and paid through electronic payment accounts or registered value storage card outside the territory of the ROC for real transactions conducted at offline distribution channels.
4. Provide a customer with the service of collecting/paying funds by withdrawing from a foreign institution's payment account and remitted into the customer’s same currency deposit account at a financial institution or an electronic payment account in the ROC.
5. Provide customers with or accept customer's request to provide the service of foreign exchange settlement and foreign currency remittance for funds remitted in or out in association with services in the preceding four subparagraphs.
6. Other related activities approved by the competent authority.
Only electronic payment institutions may apply for approval to provide services under Subparagraph 2 and Subparagraph 3 of the preceding paragraph.
Only electronic payment institutions and banks not engaging concurrently in electronic payment business may apply for approval to provide services under Subparagraph 4 of Paragraph 1 hereof.
Where services under any subparagraphs of Paragraph 1 hereof provided by an approved institution are related to foreign remittance, the rules and regulations of the Central Bank of the ROC ("Central Bank") shall be complied with. |
| Article 5 | Any institution without approval shall not cooperate with or assist a foreign institution in engaging in activities associated with electronic payment business within the territory of the ROC. This restriction shall not apply to businesses processed by banks under the Banking Act, or by Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. under the Postal Remittances and Savings Act. |
| Article 6 | Electronic payment institutions or banks not engaging concurrently in electronic payment business may appoint an fund transfer clearing services institution to provide clearing services, system interfacing, and data transmission and exchange services for the inward or outward remittances raised from related activities set out in Paragraph 1 of Article 4 herein. |