As Taiwan gradually moves towards a cashless society, digital payment company Visa announced that it will use the dual-engine strategy of "consumer diversified payment" and "enterprise digital financial flow" to drive the upgrading of Taiwan's cashless business society.
In addition to continuously expanding consumer payment scenarios and providing a smooth, secure, and diverse payment experience, Visa is also focusing on corporate payments, launching Visa Commercial Pay. This service allows digital corporate cards to be directly linked to Apple Pay and Google Pay, enabling a card-based payment system for businesses and enhancing the card-using experience. Visa also simultaneously launched the Visa Business Payment Service Provider solution, allowing businesses to use cards to pay suppliers who don't accept cards while also enjoying the convenience of delayed payments.
Visa's SME Payment Insights Report indicates that 33% of Taiwanese SMEs are interested in digital transformation, starting with their cash flow. However, only 53% currently accept credit cards, with the remainder refusing to accept them due to technical integration and cost constraints. The survey also reveals that SMEs offer a wide range of payment methods, including bank transfers, cash, and card payments. However, 32% of businesses still don't use card payments due to concerns about supplier acceptance, security, and convenience.
Visa Taiwan General Manager Huang Hui-chin said, "Visa continues to collaborate with ecosystem partners to drive the development of a cashless society in Taiwan through the dual engines of 'diversified consumer payments' and 'digitalized business cash flow.' Our survey found that 70% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would like to apply for corporate cards, but their biggest concern is the widespread acceptance of these cards by suppliers. This demonstrates that the industry must address both corporate card usage and card acquisition to accelerate the adoption of corporate payment cards and help businesses use them for business."
Insight 1: Nearly 85% of SMEs face challenges in digitalizing their financial flows
Visa's SME Payment Insights Report indicates that over 6% of SMEs have already introduced online transactions, yet 4% are concerned about the security of online payment processing. Furthermore, while one-third of these businesses hope to digitize their cash flow, 84% report difficulties integrating payment gateways when implementing digital payments. Furthermore, nearly half of these businesses also cited payment processing as a major operational challenge when expanding into overseas markets.
Insight 2: Bank transfer is the preferred method for SMEs to receive and pay
The survey shows that bank transfer is the most common method used by SMEs for both receiving and paying. For receiving payments, immediacy and transparency are key evaluation factors for SMEs, with bank transfer (73%), cash (67%), and card payment (53%) being the top three choices. For payments, SMEs mostly choose bank transfer to pay domestic suppliers (66%) or overseas suppliers (55%), depending on their supplier preferences.
Insight 3: Worrying that suppliers won't accept cards is the main challenge for SMEs using card payments
According to the survey, SMEs demonstrate a diverse range of card usage, including bank transfers, cash, and card payments. Of these, 32% use only business cards, 24% use only personal cards, 12% use both business and personal cards, and 32% use no cards at all. For both those who have adopted business cards and those who haven't, the main challenges include concerns about suppliers not accepting cards, card security, and ease of use.
To address the payment needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Visa has launched a digital corporate card. With flexible transaction terms and limits, sub-cards can be issued to employees for easy card payment management, digitizing cash flow, reducing carbon emissions, and strengthening internal controls. Furthermore, through Visa QuickPay for Business, employees can link their digital corporate card to mobile payment options, enabling payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay, comprehensively enhancing the corporate card experience.
Visa has also launched the "Visa Pay Faster, Pay Slower" solution, allowing small and medium-sized enterprises to pay suppliers who do not accept cards by card when making purchases. This not only simplifies the payment process and allows small and medium-sized enterprises to enjoy convenient card payment, but also enjoys the advantage of deferred payment. Suppliers can also receive payments in the form of conventional remittances, which revolutionizes the business payment experience for enterprises.
Visa Taiwan General Manager Huang Huiqin added, "Compared to 2023, Visa's enterprise digital cash flow performance has grown by more than double digits. In addition to continuously pioneering innovations in 'enterprise digital cash flow' and 'consumer diversified payment options,' Visa is committed to providing a secure payment environment for consumers and businesses by reducing the value of data, using technology to prevent and control fraud, and leveraging data monitoring. We will continue to be a reliable partner for consumers and businesses, accelerating the transition to a cashless society."
