Taiwan Bans Crypto Purchases with Credit Cards

Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has asked credit card companies to ban payments for crypto-related purchases, as the regulator believes these assets are risky and speculative. 

Local-based crypto exchange Max MaiCoin trades over USD 4 million in USDT in 24 hours and is closely followed by massive trades on ETC, BTC, and Sandbox's crypto, SAND.

According to the FSC, credit cards should be used only as a payment method for goods and services and not facilitate speculative trading and financial investments, which could easily lead to debt and a high fiscal burden. Credit card providers who currently serve crypto merchants have three months to comply with the latest FSC requirements and, once the deadline passes, companies must submit an audit report to the regulator. 

Taiwan's strict policy against blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets is well-known internationally, as only in July 2022 warned the population about the risks of NFTs as investments. According to the region's central bank, less than 30% of investors profit from selling an NFT, while over 33% of all NFTs produced do not sell at all, proving that the main population is still reluctant when it comes to these unique digital assets.

The regulator mentioned that credit cards are now used as payment tools to supply irresponsible financial behaviours, including funding online gambling, stocks, futures, options, and other types of transactions which are considered high risk, and this will only lead to more debt and less financial stability among investors.

(Source: The Paypers)