EasyCard

The Taipei Smart Card Corporation was established in 2000 with a total capitalization of NT$700 million.[2] Shareholders include the Taipei City Government, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, banks, bus companies, and other companies. Promotional trials of the card began in 2001, and the card was officially released in 2002.[3] In 2008, the company changed its name to the EasyCard Corporation to increase branding and visibility.[4]

By April 2016, the company had issued over 60 million cards.[3] EasyCard transactions now account for 91% of Taipei Metro system transactions, 92% of bus transactions, and 71% of parking lot transactions.[5] Daily transactions reached 3.1 million in 2009.

EasyCards can be used for purchases of up to NT$1,000 at available stores once, up to a maximum of NT$3,000 per day.[15] This limit does not apply to payment of government fees, public service charges, medical costs, transport services (including recreational services like the Maokong Gondola or bicycle rental), miscellaneous school expenses, and parking fees.[15] Value can be recharge in multiples of NT$100 and each card can hold up to NT$10,000 of value.[16]

For consumer safety, all money from EasyCard deposits are held in the EasyCard Prepaid Trust Fund managed by Cathay United Bank. All deposits are protected by a full refund guarantee issued by the managing bank.[17][18]

If a card has not been used for over two years, a recharge must be made before the card will be reactivated. The balance on a card can be checked on the scanner unit whenever a transaction is made or using an EasyCard Reader located at all Taipei Metro stations.[15]

• Adult: These standard fare cards cost NT$500, inclusive of a NT$400 balance and NT$100 deposit.[19] Purchase and add-value are available at all Taipei Metro stations, bus stations, and most convenience stores. The card can be credited to a maximum of balance of NT$10,000.[16] Unused fees and the deposit are refundable.
• Student: These cards costs the same amount (NT$500), but can only be purchased from station staff with appropriate student identification. The pricing model remains the same on the Metro but is discounted on public buses at NT$12 rather than NT$15. Cardholders after October 2015 will not receive the $3 NT discount on public buses according to EasyCard Corp.

Note: As of 1 May 2010, at certain convenience store chains (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK Mart), Adult and Student cards may be purchased with NT$200 (NT$100 balance and NT$100 deposit).[19]

• Concessionaire: These cards are reserved for children (under eligible legislation), seniors over 65 years of age, and disabled persons.[19] It offers discounts depending on the service used.
• Taipei Pass: A special-purpose card that allows for unlimited travel on the Metro and associated bus services and unlimited trips on the Maokong Gondola.[20] The pass is sold as a one-day, two-day, three-day, or five-day pass. It expires on midnight of the expiry date. Buses that accept the card will display a TaipeiPass identification sticker.[21]

Joint-branded cards allow for an EasyCard to be linked with a credit or ATM account to automatically add value.[22] This allows for consumers to pay for products, services, or government fees with the card. The option remains popular with users in spite of handling fees and a limit of how much money can be added per day (NT$500).[23]

Auto-recharge applied to debit card to make up to 3 times of each NT$500 at all Designated retailers and value-adding machine at Metro stations

Several attempts have been made to embed EasyCard radio chips into mobile devices, enabling "transactions by phone." Users are not billed by their telecommunications accounts; rather, they can read transaction records and check balance using a supported mobile phone.

As the value of an EasyCard can be used for transactions of scarce services and products, security measures are important. EasyCard uses multiple encryption techniques to prevent illegal modification of values and hacking.

At the 27th annual German Chaos Communication Congress hacker conference ("27C3") in 2010, German free software programmer Harald Welte showed that it is possible to artificially change the amount of money stored on a first-generation EasyCard —based on the MIFARE Classic chip— using nothing more than a USB RFID reader and a laptop computer running open source software. Welte denounced the system for its poor choice of cipher and lack of user authentication. He was able to map out and manipulate the card's internal format in 2 days on a trip in Taiwan.[24]

However, hacking the EasyCard remains illegal, and in September 2011 a 24-year-old engineer was arrested on suspicion of fraudulently using a hacked EasyCard.[25]

EasyCard has since addressed several of the weaknesses in later card hardware revisions[26] but remains vulnerable to several known attacks on the cryptography of MIFARE Classic that cannot be addressed without breaking backwards compatibility to existing infrastructure.[27]

The EasyCard has been very popular since its launch in 2002. By 2010, over 23 million cards had been issued.(The source did not say what cards have returned as subpriced)[28] By 2014, more than 50 million cards have been issued.

Critics have called for stronger measures to promote name registration of EasyCards in order to protect consumer rights. Over NT$600 million is lost yearly in lost cards.[29] As of 2009, less than 0.02% of cards had been registered.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to EasyCard.

• Official homepage of the EasyCard Corporation