Taiwan's cash machines pass Y2K test

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9/12/99 -- 5:15 PM

Taiwan's cash machines pass Y2K test

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwan's automatic teller machines passed a year 2000 computer glitch test Sunday, showing there is no need for Taiwanese to stockpile cash before the new year, finance officials said.

The three-hour test of 256 cash machines belonging to 128 local and foreign banks was entirely successful, said Wang Yao-hsing, a Finance Ministry official.

``What we have done is show that those outlets that most people use for savings, transactions and deposits will work,'' Wang told reporters.

``People should absolutely have confidence that our financial networks will not be affected,'' Wang said.

Wang personally joined in the test, withdrawing 3,000 Taiwan dollars in valueless certificates loaded into the machines for the simulation.

Countries around the world are rushing to reprogram or replace computer equipment to head off anticipated problems due to the rolling over of the calendar on January 1, when computers could read the year 2000 as 1900.

Officials say they fear a run on the banks by a nervous public.

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Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 12, 1999


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