Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) and Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) yesterday introduced a digital red envelope feature to the M+ Messenger app, marking a first for the local market.
The new feature expands the app’s peer-to-peer payment functions and lets users send cash gifts to a single or multiple recipients, the companies said.
The transactions are limited to NT$50,000 each or a total of NT$100,000 daily, they added.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
Digital red envelopes have over the past few years gained popularity in China, Fubon president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) said, adding that M+ has enhanced security, as users must register their identity and account at the lender.
Similar to its Chinese counterparts, M+ allows users to divide a lump sum into red envelopes to hold sweepstakes and prize drawings in group chats, with the app randomly assigning the amount in each envelope for each recipient.
These game-like features drew an exciting level of participation among employees during internal testing, as responsiveness to group chat messages surged whenever red envelopes were posted, Cheng said.
More than 80,000 red envelopes have been sent since internal testing began on Friday last week, he said.
To cope with the massive number of red envelope micro-transactions, the lender is testing blockchain technology to reduce the strain on its processing systems, he said.
BLOCKCHAIN
“Currently, part of the transaction processing is conducted on our blockchain, as the decentralized and distributed ledger is able to record a large influx of red envelope transactions so that they can be processed in batches,” Cheng added.
The system is expected to be migrated to blockchain technology at the beginning of next year, he said.
Regarding the messaging app’s target market, Cheng said that M+ is the leading solution among local enterprises and that the app is also used by more than 50,000 consumers.
The bank’s payroll transfer clients can easily be converted to M+, while Taiwan Mobile is to install kiosks at its service branches to entice new users, he said.
LINE PAY
In related news, Line Pay, the mobile payment service of Line Corp, operator of Taiwan’s most popular messaging app, announced its plans to become the main shareholder of iPass Corp (一卡通票證).
The messaging giant is optimistic that iPass, which is the only local company with operating licenses for both electronic payments and electronic stored value cards, will play an integral part in the nation’s market for cashless mobile payments, Line Pay said.
Government agencies and affiliates own 47.44 percent of iPass, including the National Development Fund, the Kaohsiung City Government and Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in