December 30, 2004
Mondex Taiwan, a subsidiary of MasterCard International, announced in mid-December that its Mondex card can now be used for online purchases. This move takes the card to the virtual world where it has the advantage of greater security than credit cards.
Internet shoppers wishing to use the stored value card will need to purchase a card reader which connects to personal computers through USB ports. The readers cost only
NTD 350, and Mondex Taiwan is offering
NTD 100 discount certificates until mid-January.
Since introducing the Mondex card three years ago, the company has issued over 2 million cards which can be used for purchases at more than 2,000 businesses around Taiwan. While fifteen online businesses now accept Mondex cards, Mondex Taiwan intends to increase this number to 250 within two months.
Current Mondex online partners include some businesses on Yahoo! Taiwan's home shopping site, food company New Horizon's online outlet, billing service EZPay, and peer-to-peer file sharing service Kuro. Ten banks in Taiwan offer Mondex cards.
Mondex Taiwan highlights the lower risks of using a Mondex card for online shopping. Card users are not required to enter personal information, as is the case when using credit cards for online purchases, and they are allowed to change passwords. Online businesses also do not need to worry about the illegal use of credit cards.
(Central News Agency, Taiwan News, China Times)
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