Taiwan authorities banned payment of cryptocurrency with bank cards

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According to a statement from Taiwan's regulator, digital currencies are high-risk assets and payment cards should not be used to purchase them.  

Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC)sent a letter to the Taiwan Banking Association. The agency has asked bankers not to grant virtual asset service providers (VASPs) merchant status in payment card transactions. This means that local credit and debit card holders will not be able to use plastic to purchase crypto assets. The regulator clarified that cards are considered consumer payment instruments, so they should not be involved in speculative transactions and high-risk investments.

In addition to purchasing cryptocurrencies, citizensTaiwanese will not be able to use bank cards to buy stocks, futures and options, or to participate in online gambling. The agency explained that one of the reasons for introducing restrictions was the decline in the digital asset market. The FSC has always had concerns that crypto assets could be used for money laundering. In addition, transactions with virtual assets are quite difficult to track.

FSC provided banks, financialorganizations and card issuing companies have three months to optimize their activities to comply with the new rules. After making adjustments, companies must conduct an internal audit and report the results to the regulator.

In June, Taiwan's central bank urged the publicrefrain from investing in collectible tokens (NFTs), as they are often used for phishing attacks. At the same time, the central bank is developing its own digital currency. Taiwan's Central Bank recently reported that research in this area may take several more years.