Category: Apps

7-Eleven, PChome, and CTBC have all introduced this new smartphone payments option.

PChome Online Inc subsidiary, Pi Mobile Technology Inc. has now launched the Pi mobile wallet app for consumers to use to may payments at over 5,000 convenience stores throughout Taiwan.

The application is the result of a collaborative effort among some of the major players in the country.

The Pi mobile wallet has come about because PChome, CTBC, and Uni-President Enteterprises are all working together to launch it. PChome is the top online shopping portal in Taiwan. CTBC Bank is the leading issuer of credit cards in the country. Uni-President Enterprises is the operator of Taiwan’s 7-Eleven franchise. According to Jan Hung-tze, the chairman of PChome, at a press conference, “The partnership with 7-Eleven is expected to accelerate growth in mobile payment usage in Taiwan, as smartphones and convenience stores have become an integral part of our daily lives.”

When the mobile wallet is combined with a credit card from CTBC, small purchases can be made.

These mobile payments have a maximum limit of NT$1,000 (almost US$32.00). The wallet app allows consumers with a CTBC Bank credit card to buy products at the 7-Eleven stores across the country. All they need to do is have the Pi application running on their smartphones. When the user is ready to make a purchase, a unique barcode is displayed on the smartphone screen. It is then scanned at the checkout counter and the payment is automatically made. The transaction is then verified and completed when the user enters a four digit code.

In the country, cash payments currently make up an estimated 75 percent of all transactions, according to Jan. They are considerably behind the times when compared to the trends in other countries in the Asia Pacific region as well as in many nations around the world. In Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong, for example, cash payments have dropped to about 50 percent.

All credit card information from this mobile wallet is stored remotely, and transactions can be completed only if the four digit code is used. In that way, the mobile security features are in place to stop the device from being used to make purchases by the wrong person. Furthermore, the fact that it can be used only at 7-Eleven and it has a maximum transaction limit further reduces the risk of fraudulent charges.

The new smartphone application is meant to help guide people in English, Korean, and Chinese.

The Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company has now released a mobile app that has been designed to be able to provide tourists in the country with the information that they need in English, Korean, or Chinese, in case a natural disaster should occur.

Company officials explained that the mobile application will guide visitors to the country to safety.

The mobile app is aimed specifically at tourists and exchange students that are visiting from other countries and who don’t necessarily know the procedures in the event of a natural disaster while they are in Japan. A Japanese language version of the mobile application was already launched back in 2012. Since that time, it has been downloaded 500,000 times.

The new multilingual version of the mobile app will contain the same functions as the original Japanese version.

This smartphone app has been built with a number of different functions, including an important map feature that identifies evacuation centers that are located nearby. These features are available through the app regardless of whether or not the device is able to connect to the internet at the time, provided that it has already been downloaded.

The cell phones of the users can provide very accurate directions from precisely where the user is. They simply need to aim their mobile devices at the buildings that are located nearby. The application is able to recognize them and will provide them with evacuation center location details based on that specific spot.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance has been able to come to agreements with seven different local authorities that are located across the country in order to publicize the positions of the evacuation centers by way of the Japanese version of the software. Now, the hope from the insurer is to be able to connect with a larger number of universities and regional authorities so that they will be able to take part in the multilingual version, as well.

The agreement that was established for the mobile app with the Narita airport operator located near Tokyo will help the insurance company to be able to offer guidance options around the airport for tourists to the area, as well.