Taiwan-based CTBC Bank has partnered with Malaysian fintech Soft Space in order to launch a tap-on-phone payments system for taxi fares. The system relies on Android smartphones with near-field communication (NFC) technology to accept contactless card payments powered by Soft Space.

From a security standpoint, the Tap-to-Phone solution has been approved by payment brands, and it follows PCI CPoC standards to make sure that all payment transactions are encrypted with multiple security layers. This means that credit card information and other sensitive data packets cannot be accessed by third parties. Through Taiwan Taxi and its 55688 Delegated Driver Service, the new contactless payment system will become available to over 5,000 taxi drivers and 2,000 designated drivers collectively.

While these drivers will not need to invest in dedicated payment terminals in order to accept payments, they will need to sign up with CTBC Bank in order to activate their accounts. Consumers will be able to pay for their taxi fares using credit cards, wearables, or mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay. They will receive their receipts via SMS, email, or in the form of QR codes.

Officials from CTBT Bank cited by fintechnews. my described their partnership with Soft Space as a way to empower small businesses, such as taxi drivers, to experience a more convenient and secure way to collect fares. Soft Space representatives cited by the same source emphasised the potentially limitless applications of contactless payments and expressed their gratitude to work with CTBT Bank in order to democratise payments on a daily basis through taxi rides.

Visa launched a similar service in Hong Kong According to nfcw. com, in June 2022, Visa launched a Tap to Phone software point of sale (sPOS) solution for taxi drivers in Hong Kong. Visa’s system also works with Android-powered devices exclusively, and it allows passengers to pay their fares by tapping their contactless card on a driver’s smartphone.

For this system, Visa partnered with a payment services provider named Global Payments Asia-Pacific. The company plans to expand the service to minibuses and ferries to allow passengers to pay for small ticket items via its contactless scheme. .