Cathay Securities Investment Trust Expands Thematic ETF Line-Up Issuing Global Digital Payment Services ETF Tracking Solactive Index
The global adoption of smartphones and mobile internet paved the way for a universal mobile payment ecosystem. According to the report “Navigating the Payments Matrix – Creating a Course amid Evolution and Revolution”[1], from PwC, the ongoing shift might eventually lead to a cashless global society. The report states that global cashless payment volumes are set to grow more than 80% from 2020 to 2025, from 1 trillion to almost 1.9 trillion transactions. The Asia-Pacific region might account for the fastest transition, with a volume increase of 109% until 2025. Envisaging the potential of e-commerce and the adoption of digital payment, Cathay SITE decided to expand its thematic ETF offering with its new Cathay Global Digital Payment Services ETF (Stock Code: 00909.TW). The fund tracks Solactive Global Digital Payment Services Index and started trading on Taiwan Stock Exchange on 13 July 2022.
The Solactive Global Digital Payment Services Index aims to track the performance of a basket of stocks based on their role in the digital payments services value chain. It includes companies that are actively engaged in the digital payments industry and are expected to benefit from the acceleration and proliferation of digital payments, classified through the following activities: digital payment, digital asset infrastructure, digital asset software, and digital asset creation. This involves the IT infrastructure, the backbone of the digital transformation, including companies that provide the hardware and data center to enable further technology progress; companies that engage in the support of software products as well as cloud computing solutions to facilitate digital payments; future areas of the payment industries; and the rising trend of digital intellectual property as well as digital artworks including the marketplaces where individuals can connect to each other.
The selection procedure uses Solactive’s proprietary big data and in-house developed natural language processing (NLP) algorithm ARTIS®. ARTIS® utilizes state-of-the-art algorithms to parse high volumes of public documents to evaluate companies’ exposures that are hidden when relying on conventional approaches. Each company identified by the algorithm receives a score that reflects its exposure to the index strategy. The resulting set of companies is then reviewed to ensure relevance to the theme based on business operations.
Timo Pfeiffer, Chief Markets Officer at Solactive, said: “We have all been witnessing the technological advances in data processing and computational power that enabled the widespread access to the internet and smartphones. This scenario lays the foundations for a cashless society that makes heavy use of digital payment services. Besides, these technologies may also potentially benefit business owners via sales growth, lower transaction costs, and higher transparency. With this launch, Solactive reinforces its commitment to be at the forefront of thematic investing. We are excited and privileged that major player Cathay SITE continues to share this mindset with us, and we look forward to jointly bringing more innovative products to Taiwanese investors.”
Eddie Cheng, Head of Quantitative and Index Business Division at Cathay SITE, comments: “In recent years, we’ve seen the transition of payments and broader usage of blockchain technology. Thus, we’re so honored to cooperate with the German thematic index expert Solactive to bring Global Digital Payment Services ETF to the Taiwan market to provide investors with an indispensable vehicle for their portfolio that invests in companies with revolutionary technologies. As the biggest asset management company in Taiwan, it’s always important to have partners like Solactive to offer better opportunities to our investors and to keep our leading position.”
[1] https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/financial-services/fs-2025/pwc-future-of-payments.pdf