STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 21, 2002
Taiwan Cooperative Bank has joined MasterCard International's Maestro network, with inter-bank transactions slated to begin in July. Taiwan Cooperative Bank is the first public financial institution to become a part of the Maestro network.
This means that Taiwan Cooperative Bank depositors will be able to charge and make payments using their ATM cards. Last Åugust MasterCard introduced the Maestro online POS debit program in Taiwan to receptive response.
MasterCard International expects the number of banks issuing the Maestro card to significantly increase within the next few months from the 13 financial institutions that now issue them and 5,000 sales terminals in Taiwan.
The Maestro network, which spans 28,000 ATMs and 252,000 point-of-sale terminals in Asia/Pacific. Taiwan Cooperative Bank has 145 branches islandwide, with 1.85 million ATM cardholders. Current cardholders will be able to exchange their ATM cards for new debit cards with the Maestro logo at no extra charge.
