TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) reported Thursday (Aug. 8) that cashless payments totaled NT$4.1 trillion (US$126 billion) from January to June, a near 14% increase year-on-year.

According to the FSC press release there were 32 credit card issuing institutions in Taiwan as of June. The number of credit cards was 58.87 million, a decrease of 170,000 cards, while the number of active cards increased by 180,000 to 38.24 million, per CNA.

FSC official Lin Chih-chi (林志吉) said the rise in June credit card spending was primarily due to more people paying taxes with their credit cards. He reported that E. Sun Bank saw a NT$56.67 billion increase in transaction volume due to tax payments, CTBC Bank NT$50.04 billion, Cathay United Bank NT$37 billion, and Taishin Bank NT$15.09 billion.

Together, these four major card issuers saw a combined monthly increase of NT$158.8 billion due to tax payments, Lin added.

Meanwhile, monthly retail sales were approximately NT$564.3 billion, compared to NT$372.8 billion in May, the agency reported.