Taiwan’s (Province of China) card payments market is set to reach TWD5.7 trillion ($177.7 billion) in 2026, driven by the growing preference for digital payments, near-universal banking access and value-added benefits associated with payment cards, reveals GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics reveals that the total card payment value in Taiwan registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7% over 2021-2025 to reach TWD5.4 trillion ($168.3 billion). The rise of digital-only banks, phasing out of magnetic stripe cards, and increasing use of contactless payments are expected to further support this growth.
Shivani Gupta, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Taiwan’s payments landscape shifted decisively from cash to electronic payments over 2021–2025, with digital transaction methods becoming the more prevalent way to pay. The growth in card payments is expanding on the back of strong banking penetration, widening payment acceptance, and issuer-led efforts to substitute small-ticket cash spending with electronic payments.”
Debit card penetration is notably high in Taiwan, with everyone holding over five debit cards in 2025. However, their usage has primarily been confined to cash withdrawals, rather than payments.
Credit and charge cards, on the other hand, are increasingly used for making payments. This growth can be attributed to the country’s developing payment infrastructure, and the ongoing efforts by issuers to boost credit card usage through rewards, co-branded propositions, and campaign-driven merchant partnerships, particularly in categories that lend themselves to repeat payments such as ecommerce, mass retail, dining, and travel.
The expansion of contactless payment technology is further accelerating card adoption. From 02 March 2026, Taiwan Railway Corporation began accepting credit cards, along with mobile wallets for ticket adjustments and upgrades. In addition, from 01 July 2026, passengers will be able to enter and exit the Taipei Metro system using contactless credit cards.
The growing POS terminalization is accelerating card payment growth in Taiwan by expanding acceptance, particularly among SMEs. In December 2025, the Ministry of Finance introduced tax incentives for small businesses adopting mobile payments or Multimedia Information Service Machines (KIOSKs), including a reduced 1% business tax rate and invoice exemptions through 2028.
In January 2026, Neweb Technologies partnered with MineSec to launch NewebAIO SoftPOS, enabling merchants to accept contactless payments on Android devices without traditional POS hardware.
Gupta concludes: “Taiwan’s payment card market is poised for sustained growth over the next five years, supported by rising consumer awareness and usage of payment cards, continued shift of transit and other low-value everyday payments to card-enabled acceptance, and government measures to digitize payments among SMEs. Growth in e-commerce and the continued rollout of digital-only banks will further reinforce this momentum.”
