Tainan Temple Now Accepting E-payments for Offerings|台南廟宇導入科技 行動支付添香油錢

Taiwan's Tian Gong Temple is working with a bank to process small-amount deductions using EasyCards and EasyCard credit cards. In addition, the temple is globalizing and digitizing by adding two new electronic lot-drawing machines with six language options.


Foreigners are unable to fully experience Taiwan's temple culture because lots are usually only available in Chinese. Tainan's Tian Gong Temple therefore began offering lots with English and Japanese translations in 2017. This year, it launched digital lots with several more language options.

You don't have to spend all that time there waiting to draw a lot. Drawing lots can take a lot of time.

There are a lot of tourists from Southeast Asia because of the New Southbound Policy. That's why we started providing translated (lots) in Vietnamese and Korean. Lots are usually paper. To be more environmentally friendly, we launched lot machines so tourists can enjoy the fun of drawing lots.

The temple has also teamed up with a bank to be able to process e-payments for offerings.

This is very convenient. (Is this the first time you've seen this?) Yes, the first time. I think it's pretty innovative.

We can use mobile payments for incense and other activities. We are keeping up with the times.

Tiangong Temple is the first of Tainan's 1,630 temples to accept mobile payments. The city government has actively promoted mobile payment systems in the past and mobile payment apps can be used to pay for everything from parking to entrance tickets at historical sites across the city.



台灣首廟天壇拜拜的求籤的人潮不斷，但以往籤詩都是中文，外國人看不懂無法體驗台灣廟宇文化，為此，廟方2017年特別推出英語、日語翻譯的籤詩，今年更新增6種語言，並推出數位版。

民眾表示：「就是不用在那邊等花時間在抽籤，其實抽籤滿花時間的。」

台南第二官方語言辦公室副主任 田玲瑚表示：「新南向政策，所以有很多的遊客，來自東南亞國家的，所以也特別推出向越南語，然後韓語，這樣不同翻譯的版本，過去用紙的，現在環保取向，所以也推出籤詩機，然後讓遊客可以感受到抽籤樂趣。」

除此之外，廟方也跟銀行業者合作，導入電子支付服務，只要「嗶」一下就能添香油錢、點燈。不只方便，也不用擔心金錢遺失的風險。

民眾表示：「這樣子很方便。 (第一次看到嗎？) 對，第一次看到，我覺得還滿有創意的。」

台灣首廟天壇董事長 徐國潤表示：「包括我們點香，各種活動，我們都可以用支付寶來支付，都能夠跟上時代的潮流。」

台南廟宇總數達1630間，台灣首廟天壇成為台南第一間可用行動支付的廟宇。過去台南市府推動行動支付不遺餘力，不只從政府地方稅、路邊停車費，古蹟景點提供行動支付，現在更加入廟宇系統，未來不只讓市民享受無現金智慧城市的便利之外，也要讓民眾感受古都新科技的魅力。