Chapter 4 Business Management and Operations of Electronic Payment Institutions
| Article 13 | Where an electronic payment institution is permitted to engage in small-amount domestic and international remittances business, it shall participate in the inter-institution funds transfer clearing services operated by a financial information service provider for the function of small-amount domestic remittances specified in Paragraph 1, Article 8 of the Act prior to its commencement of business.
Where an electronic payment institution operates the transfer of funds between e-payment accounts prior to the promulgation of the amendment to the Act on January 27 of 2021, implementation on July 1, it shall be deemed as having been approved to operate small-amount domestic remittances in NTD. It shall therefore be required to participate in the inter-institution funds transfer clearing services operated by a financial information service provider for the function of small-amount domestic remittances specified in Paragraph 1, Article 8 of the Act by September 30 of 2021. However, the payment institution may apply for extension to the competent authority, provided that the reasons of the request for extension are justifiable. The extension shall be once only, and its period shall not exceed three months. |
| Article 14 | Where an electronic payment institution applies for engaging in businesses specified in Subparagraphs 2 and 3, Paragraph 1, Article 4 of the Act that relating to foreign currencies, or applies for buying and selling foreign currencies related businesses under Subparagraph 4, its business plan must specify the following items:
1. Conducting the tests of connection with foreign exchange data processing system of the Central Bank;
2. Disclosing the principles of exchange rate reference certificates issuance, and foreign exchange settlement reporting items to users;
3. The operating procedures that the electronic payment institution as a client applies for conducting foreign exchange funds payment and collections to authorized bank.
Where an electronic payment institution applies for engaging in small-amount international remittances service in accordance with the preceding paragraph, it shall submit two copies of the following documents and apply for approval to the competent authority:
1. Feasibility analysis: The contents must include the considerations for selecting the offshore institution, applicable local regulations and rules, and legitimacy.
2. Correspondent offshore institution related documents including its name, location, and profile, license or permit issued by the local competent authority for engaging in remittance business, and a certification letter. The certification letter provided shall be notarized by a public notary appointed by the local government at where the foreign institution is located and authenticated by an ROC consulate, representative office, or liaison office abroad or other institutions authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. Other documents as required by the competent authority.
The competent authority shall consult with the Central Bank before granting permission for matters specified in the preceding two paragraphs. |
| Article 15 | When an electronic payment institution engages in the business of collecting and making payments for real transactions as an agent, a contracted institution must be the ultimate recipient. However, this shall not apply under the following circumstances:
1. Where a contracted institution is a financial institution that collects and makes payments for real transactions as an agent in accordance with financial regulations.
2. Where a contracted institution is a convenience store, supermarket, or another industry approved by the competent authority, and one of the following conditions apply:
(1) Collection of charges and fees, taxes, and fines on behalf of governments of all levels.
(2) Collection of service charges on behalf of public utilities.
(3) Collection of ticket fares and other related service fees on behalf of public transportation enterprises.
(4) Collection of credit card payments commissioned by the credit card issuer institutions. However, it may not accept the said payments to be paid by credit cards through e-payment accounts or stored value cards.
(5) Collection of tuition fees on behalf of public and private schools of all levels.
(6) Collection of telecommunication fees for fixed telecommunication network services or mobile broadband services on behalf of Type I telecommunications enterprises.
(7) Collection of cable television fees on behalf of cable broadcast television service enterprises.
(8) Collection of payment on delivery on behalf of online shopping service operators.
(9) Other payments approved by the competent authority.
When an electronic payment institution collects or makes payments for real transactions as an agent for businesses specified in Items 5 to 8, Subparagraph 2 of the preceding paragraph, it shall sign a tripartite agreement with the trustee and trustor of the collection and payment service as an agent and specify both the trustee and the trustor as contracted institutions.
The services provided to online shopping service operators specified in Item 8, Subparagraph 2 of Paragraph 1 shall be limited to those operators who sell products directly to users, and the collection amount on behalf of such service operators shall be limited to no more than NT$5,000. |
| Article 16 | An electronic payment institution shall use New Taiwan Dollar only when engaging in adding value or making payment of users’ stored value cards, except the said stored value cards are annexed to electronic payment accounts.
The following stored value cards must be registered:
1. Stored value cards co-branded and issued with other financial payment instruments;
2. Stored value cards with online transaction functions;
3. Stored value cards with automatic recharge functions connected to other financial payment instruments agreed by users;
4. Stored value cards with withdrawal functions;
5. Stored value cards annexed to electronic payment accounts.
If the provisions in Subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph are not met, the electronic payment institution shall obtain the users’ consent for converting their cards to registered stored value cards before completing renewal of the said cards. Where it fails to convert the cards to registered stored value cards while renewing the cards, it shall suspend the use of the stored value cards when the card expires. |
| Article 17 | An electronic payment institution shall meet the following regulations when it accepts users to recharge via credit cards:
1. The payment of recharge shall be conducted in New Taiwan Dollar only.
2. Electronic payment institutions shall establish the ceiling of recharge and risk control and management mechanisms.
3. The funds recharged with credit cards may only be used under the services of collecting and making payments for real transactions as an agent, and may not be used for small-amount domestic and international remittances, withdrawal, loans, and repaying credit cards payments. In addition, the provision shall be disclosed to users in conspicuous lettering not only on the service website but also every time users recharge with credit cards. However, where the recharge service is provided for stored value cards, the said provision may only be informed to users in conspicuous lettering on its service website.
4. If the electronic payment institution provides users with automatic recharge service with pre-agreed linked credit cards, the ceiling of automatic recharge for every single service and every single day shall be agreed by the users. The said institution shall provide the mechanism allowing users to adjust the ceiling and to suspend the automatic recharge service when needed.
5. If an electronic payment institution allows users to carry out automatic recharge service via credit cards, the said credit cards must be the users personally owned. |
| Article 18 | When an electronic payment institution provides users with automatic recharge of stored value funds service through the agreed linked deposit account, the deposit account must be the users personally owned account and the automatic recharge shall be processed in accordance with the following requirements:
1. The ceiling of automatic recharge for every single service and every single day shall be agreed by users, and electronic payment institution shall provide mechanism allowing users to adjust the ceiling and to suspend the automatic recharge service when needed.
2. Where recharge services are provided for stored value cards, each stored value card can only be linked to one deposit account, and the electronic payment institution shall impose reasonable limit on users’ number of stored value cards which can be linked to deposit accounts.
When an electronic payment institution provides users with automatic recharge service of stored value funds through their e-payment accounts, the connected e-payment account must be the account of users, their spouses, lineal relatives, or guardians in the same electronic payment institution, and it shall be processed in accordance with the following regulations:
1. An electronic payment institution shall request users to provide supporting documents which meet with the requirements of this paragraph and verifies its validity before accepting the said automatic recharge service. It must also retain a photocopy of the certification document or maintain such records.
2. Each individual is permitted to connect only one stored value card to an electronic payment account at the electronic payment institution that the said card does not belong to this individual.
3. The electronic payment institution and the user shall specify the ceiling of automatic recharge for every single service and every single day, and it shall provide the mechanism allowing users to suspend the automatic recharge service.
4. The ceiling of automatic recharge service shall be processed in accordance with the following regulations:
(1) For stored value cards, the maximum total automatic recharge for each stored value card shall be limited to no more than NT$3,000 each day.
(2) For e-payment accounts, the maximum cap of automatic recharge from each e-payment account to other person’s stored value card shall be limited to no more than NT$30,000. The electronic payment institution shall also provide the mechanism allowing the e-payment account user to specify an amount lower than the aforementioned maximum cap with the electronic payment institution based on users’ needs. |
| Article 19 | Where a specialized electronic payment institution collects a certain amount of funds from users for a stored value card in advance, which it had issued and agreed to repay, such funds for storing value shall be processed in accordance with regulations in Articles 20 to 22, and it shall declare trust in full for the remaining amounts.
Where a specialized electronic payment institution declares trust in accordance with the preceding paragraph, it shall deposit the funds collected from users each day into the trust account specified in the trust contract before the end of the next business day. In addition, the provisions specified in Paragraph 3 to Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 7, Article 21 of the Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.
The regulations in Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 6, and Paragraph 8, Article 22 of the Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to the funds declared trust by the specialized electronic payment institution in accordance with Paragraph 1 of this Article. The funds shall not be utilized except for the following conditions:
1. Refunding based on users’ requests.
2. Utilize funds received from users in accordance with Paragraph 2 or Paragraph 3, Article 22 of the Act, and dispense or collect respective interest or other income earned thereof.
Where a specialized electronic payment institution uses the funds declared trust to deposit in a bank or purchase negotiable certificates of time deposit (“NCDs”) from a bank, the criteria for the deposit taking bank or the NCDs issuing bank shall, mutatis mutandis, meet requirements in Paragraph 1, Article 11 of the Regulations Governing the Dedicated Deposit Account of Electronic Payment Institutions.
A specialized electronic payment institution shall appoint an accountant to audit the implementation of Paragraph 1 to Paragraph 4, and submit the accountant's audit report to the competent authority for record within two months after the end of every half fiscal year. |
| Article 20 | Where an electronic payment institution issues stored value cards annexed to e-payment accounts, it shall submit the meeting minutes of the board of directors and the business plan for approval to the competent authority, and it must meet the following provisions:
1. The monetary value of stored value cards annexed to e-payment accounts shall be determined by the amount deposited in the e-payment account.
2. When conducting transactions in physical channels, the card must be a chip card or a contactless proximity cards that meets EMV contactless payment regulations specified by the international credit card organizations in accordance with ISO 14443 Standards (NFC cards). |
| Article 21 | When an electronic payment institution refunds the payment funds received from a user, it shall, return the funds through the payment method originally used by the user, return into the user's original e-payment account, original stored value card, original deposit account or original credit card account.
Except where the amount of the payment were originally paid by a user via a credit card, an electronic payment institution that is approved to engage in the business of accepting deposits of funds as stored value funds may convert the refunds specified in the preceding paragraph into stored value funds as agreed with the user, where the balance of stored value funds shall be in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1, Article 16 of the Act.
Where an electronic payment institution is unable to carry out refunds according to the preceding two paragraphs, the institution shall request and be agreed by the user to provide his or her own deposit account, which may be used for the refund operation, and it may transfer the relevant refunds into the said deposit account without making the refund in cash. |
| Article 22 | An electronic payment institution may request a contracted institution to set aside a refund reserve into a dedicated deposit account of the electronic payment institution.
When an electronic payment institution returns the payment funds received from a user in accordance with the preceding article, it shall make refunds from the balance of the e-payment account of the contracted institution, or the balance of the payment collected and paid that has not been allocated to the contracted institution first. Where there is not sufficient balance available, it may process the refund within the said reserve under the preceding paragraph.
An electronic payment institution may take the amount in payments collected and made for real transactions as an agent, payment request cycle, average price of every single product or service provided, and frequency of past refund applications of the contracted institution for reference, and evaluate an appropriate amount of the refund reserve to be set aside by a contracted institution. |
| Article 23 | An electronic payment institution shall not set a time limit for payment funds collected in the e-payment accounts or the monetary value deposited in the reloadable stored value cards.
If an electronic payment institution specifies the expiry or times of use for the monetary value deposited in a disposable stored value card, it shall record the information of the expiry of use, times of use, and methods for termination of use on the stored value card. |
| Article 24 | An electronic payment institution shall not offer users or contracted institutions overdraft services, loans, or other credit lines. Nor shall an electronic payment institution advances for a user when the amount of payment instructed by the user exceeds the balance in his/her e-payment account or stored value card. However, the aforementioned restrictions shall not apply to one-time advances and usage in the public transportation or parking lot business. |
| Article 25 | An electronic payment institution shall bear the burden of proof in dispute over a fraudulent transaction, and shall bear the loss arising from the transaction if a user is not found at fault. |
| Article 26 | When the contractual relationship between a user and an electronic payment institution is terminated or ceases to exist, the electronic payment institution shallreturn the balance of withdrawable funds of the user from the e-payment account or the stored value card, and the amount collected in advance and agreed to repay by the electronic payment institution within a reasonable period of time.
When funds in the e-payment account that an electronic payment institution returns according to the preceding paragraph or when the amount to be refunded in a stored value card exceeds NTD 3,000, the funds may not pay in cash, but shall transfer the refunds into the user’s deposit account or his/her e-payment account at the same electronic payment institution. This requirement shall not apply in case of exceptions specified in other laws and regulations.
For an unregistered stored value card, except in cases where the contractual relationship between a user and an electronic payment institution is terminated or ceases to exist, the electronic payment institution shall not refund the balance in the card, in whole or in part, based on the user’s request. |
| Article 27 | A user may report the loss and suspend the use of the stored value card specified in the following subparagraphs in the event of loss or stolen:
1. Registered stored value cards.
2. Registered stored value cards issued by an electronic payment institution prior to January 1 of 2019 for which the identity registration of the user for the stored value cards has not been completed in accordance with requirements set forth in Paragraph 3, Article 25 of the Act, but the identity profile of the user has been obtained.
3. An unregistered stored value card issued by an electronic payment institution in collaboration with schools, mobile telecommunication service operators, or government agencies that are integrated with student IDs, user’s numbers, identity certification documents, or other registered tools for which the identity profile of a user has been obtained.
4. An unregistered stored value card issued by the electronic payment institution in support of government policies for specific users for which the identity profile of users has been obtained. |
| Article 28 | In case a user of an e-payment account or a registered stored value card has any of the following circumstances, an electronic payment institution may suspend all or part of its services available to the user; if the circumstance is of serious nature, the electronic payment institution shallimmediately terminate the contract entered with the user:
1. The user refuses to cooperate in verifying or re-verifying his/her identity.
2. There is concern that the user may provide false identity information.
3. Substantial evidence shows that a user uses his/her e-payment account to engage in fraudulent activities, money laundering or other illegal activities, or the user is suspected of illegal behavior.
4. Substantial evidence shows that the user's account or card was not applied, registered, or used by the user or other irregularities.
An electronic payment institution that terminates the contract entered with a user pursuant to Subparagraphs 2 to 4 of the preceding paragraph shall report the matter to JCIC. |
| Article 29 | An electronic payment institution shall provide the service of integration and conveyance of receipt/payment information for contracted institutions or conveyance of information between users or between the user and the contracted institution in accordance with the following provisions:
1. Sign contracts with users, contracted institutions, or other institutions, and agree on the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of both parties.
2. For the provided terminal equipment or application programs, take appropriate protection and control measures in order to prevent the receipt/payment information from being leaked, tampered, or transmit wrongfully.
3. The obtained and stored receipt/payment information shall be limited to the ones which are necessary for providing service.
4. The information known by operating business, unless otherwise provided in laws and regulations, or otherwise expressly agreed by contract or in writing, shall not be used for any purpose other than operating business. |
| Article 30 | To facilitate the shared use of the point of sale system provided by an electronic payment institution to a contracted institution, the related parties sharing the use of the point of sale system must meet the following regulations:
1. Each party’s rights and obligations must be specified in the contract.
2. The parties shall establish information security control and management mechanisms for the shared use of the system to ensure the privacy and security of the transaction data (including but not limited to electronic payment account numbers, stored value card numbers, transaction contents, transaction authorization, and settlement information) and the accuracy of data transfer, exchange, or processing. |
| Article 31 | Where an electronic payment institution provides related services such as the custody of payments for product (service) gift vouchers and tickets, and assistance for issuance, sales, and reimbursement, the services shall be processed in accordance with the following regulations:
1. The electronic payment institution is required to sign a contract with the issuer as a contracted institution and specify the rights and obligations of the electronic payment institution, issuer (the contracted institution and recipient), and consumers (users and payers) in the contract, and specify the following items:
(1) Regulations under Subparagraph 2 of this Article.
(2) Other items required by the competent authority.
2. Where an electronic payment institution provides services for payments custody for gift vouchers or tickets, and the issuer of the gift vouchers or tickets has its business registration canceled or suspends business within the payment custody period, the electronic payment institution shall, based on the request of consumers, refund the payment for the gift vouchers or tickets.
3. When an electronic payment institution provides services for the assistance for issuance, sales, and reimbursement of gift vouchers or tickets, it shall disclose the information on the websites or applications of the gift vouchers or tickets that the gift vouchers or tickets are issued by the issuer, not the electronic payment institution, in order to protect consumer interests.
4. When an electronic payment institution provides services of the assistance for selling gift vouchers or tickets, it may only accept payments for buying gift vouchers or tickets from the user through his or her e-payment account. |
| Article 32 | An electronic payment institution may provide the following reward point integration and use for redeeming collection and payment for real transactions as an agent:
1. Integration services:
(1) Redeeming for products or services: Users use reward points to redeem for products, services, or other deliverables such as cash rebates, shopping funds, and stored value payments from the reward point issuer or institutions in collaboration with the reward point issuer.
(2) Transfer: Users transfer reward points to others or receives reward points transferred by others.
(3) Exchange: Users exchange reward points for other types of reward points with the reward point issuer or other parties.
2. Redeeming for the collected/paid payment for real transactions as an agent services: Users use reward points to redeem payments for real transactions for products or services provided by contracted institutions or related fees for the services provided by electronic payment institutions.
3. Other services approved by the competent authority.
An electronic payment institution shall process reward point integration and use for redeeming collected/paid payment for real transactions as an agent in accordance with the following regulations:
1. Where the services provided involves other reward point issuers or institutions in collaboration with reward point issuers, the electronic payment institution must set the rights, obligations, and duties with all parties.
2. The electronic payment institution shall disclose the name and service items in the service platform or application, and set out the contact information of the reward point issuer, methods for inquiring related rights and obligations of the reward points, and dispute settlement methods and channels.
3. The electronic payment institution shall require other reward point issuers or institutions in collaboration with reward point issuers to ensure that the reward points they distribute or provide and the methods of use meet related laws and regulations, including the Personal Data Protection Act and Consumer Protection Act.
4. The electronic payment institution shall establish fraud prevention mechanisms and implement anomaly detection.
5. In the event of a dispute between a user or a contracted institution with other reward point issuers or institutions in collaboration with reward point issuers, the electronic payment institution shall assist the user in negotiations with other reward point issuers or institutions in collaboration with reward point issuers.
When an electronic payment institution provides users with the service of redeeming reward points of a reward point issuer into stored value, it may collect redeeming reserve from the reward point issuer for redeeming stored value by the user. The redeeming process shall meet the following regulations:
1. There is no disguised interest payment.
2. The stored value redeemed from reward points shall be limited to New Taiwan Dollar only.
3. The electronic payment institution shall evaluate the amount of redeeming reserve based on the amount of reward points distributed and the frequency of past redeeming, and deposit the reserve in an dedicated account.
When an electronic payment institution provides users with the service of transferring reward points to other users, the service must meet the following criteria:
1. The transfer of reward points may not be used for commercial trading.
2. Where the electronic payment institution collects a service fee for the transfer of the reward points, the service fee shall reasonably reflect the cost of operations.
3. The electronic payment institution shall fully inform the user of the service fee required for the transfer of the reward points, deadline of use, times of transfer, quantity, and other conditions or limitations. |
| Article 33 | When an electronic payment institution provides storage segmentations or applications in a stored value card to others for use, it shall be processed in accordance with the following regulations:
1. The electronic payment institution shall establish internal control systems and procedures which must be passed by the board of directors; the same shall apply to amendments.
2. The internal control system shall include at least the following items:
(1) Scope of storage segmentations or applications provided to others for use.
(2) A contract signed with the storage segmentations or applications provider, in which clearly state the obligations of the parties.
(3) Ensure to maintain the privacy and security of data in the storage segmentations or applications.
(4) Disclose the matters regarding the rights and obligations between the user and the storage segmentations or applications operators by the said operators.
(5) Laws and regulations that must be followed by the storage segmentations or applications operators, including the Personal Data Protection Act and Consumer Protection Act.
(6) Disclose the contact information of the storage segmentations or applications operators and the methods for inquiring the rights and obligations to users. Users must be informed that the electronic payment institution only provides stored value card services and is not involved in operating products or services provided by the storage segmentations operators.
(7) Establish mechanisms for the protection of consumer rights and risk management.
3. Where storage segmentations are used to store monetary value, an electronic payment institution shall issue a co-branded stored value card with the storage segmentations operators. However, this requirement does not apply if the storage segmentations operator is a government agency. |