Taiwan has recently elevated its digital banking sector’s status by granting its first virtual banking licenses to three consortiums, headed by Japanese and Taiwanese investors. The move was a natural progression for Taiwan as it seeks to follow in the footsteps of other Asian markets which are also issuing such licenses.
The licenses, accorded by Taiwan’s Financial Service Commission (FSC), were given to Next Commercial Bank, operated by Taiwanese telecom operator Chunghwa Telecom, LINE Financial Taiwan and Rakuten International Commercial Bank, led by Japan’s LINE Group and Rakuten Inc in partnership with Taiwan’s IBF Financial Holdings respectively.
“We’re likely to see these new players in Taiwan focusing on specific markets in need of specialized services and products,” said Fergus Gordon, Managing Director and Banking Practice Lead, Africa and Asia Pacific at Accenture.
According to Gordon, millennials and SMEs would be the prime targets of these new virtual banking players as they would be avidly searching for microloans and affordable offerings that work round-the-clock, as well as efficient corporate banking and faster credit approvals.
As of now, the FSC has stated that it has no further plans to issue any more licenses.
