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Octopus Expands Digital Payment in Hong Kong Taxis

ByE NEWSJanuary 12, 20242 Mins read362

For the first time, Octopus opens up its payment network to UnionPay, AlipayHK, and Alipay to enable QR payments for Mainland visitors and Hong Kong passengers
Transaction fee waiver and referral programme to accelerate driver sign-up

HONG KONG SAR 11 January 2024 – Today Octopus Cards Limited (Octopus) announced that it will enable 21,000 Hong Kong taxi drivers to accept QR payments from UnionPay, AlipayHK and Alipay through the Octopus App for Business and Octopus Mobile POS. From 25 January, Mainland visitors and Hong Kong residents will have more options to pay for their taxi rides.

*Tim Ying, Chief Executive Officer, Octopus Holdings Limited announced starting from 25 January, Octopus opens up its payment network to to other QR payments in Hong Kong’s taxi market.*

By opening its network to other payment platforms, the first time in the company’s history, Octopus makes it easier and more convenient for the city’s taxi drivers to take mobile payment.

(From left) Andy Yip, Product Director, OCL, Roger Lee, Assistant General Manager, UnionPay International Hong Kong Branch and Tim Ying, Chief Executive Officer, (From right) Rita Li, Sales and Marketing Director, OCL and Keith Cheung, Head of Marketing, AlipayHK together to expand digital payment in Hong Kong Taxis

The inclusion of UnionPay, AlipayHK, and Alipay also solves one of the biggest pain points when paying for taxi rides in Hong Kong by providing more choices. Customers with an Octopus card can continue to tap and pay at the same Octopus Mobile POS.

*Andy Yip, Product Director, OCL demonstrates how to tap the Octopus card or scan the QR code to pay the taxi fare.*

*Rita Li, Sales and Marketing Director and Andy Yip, Product Director of OCL address the questions from the media.*

To encourage sign-up from taxi drivers, Octopus will also continue to waive transaction fees for taxi drivers until the end of 2025.[1]

Tim Ying, Chief Executive Officer, Octopus Holdings Limited said: “Octopus’ mission is to make everyday life easier through fast, simple, and secure payment experience. As our network already connected with most taxi drivers, we saw an opportunity to make it even more convenient for Mainland visitors and Hong Kong residents to pay for their cab rides with the method they are familiar with.”

The Transport Department welcomes Octopus’ new initiative to widen the usage of digital payments in taxis. It continues to maintain open dialogues with all players in the ecosystem, encouraging the adoption of more non-cash payment means for the convenience of all passengers.

Enhancing Octopus App for Business

Taxi drivers can start accepting payments by updating their existing Octopus App for Business. After updating the App, taxi drivers just need to enter the payment amount, and passengers can tap their Octopus card or scan the QR code on the paired Octopus Mobile POS to pay.

Referral programme for taxi industry

To further boost taxi acceptance, Octopus is rolling out a referral programme to onboard more taxi drivers to join the Octopus platform. Starting from today to 31 March 2024, drivers who successfully refer their peers to open an Octopus App for Business account will receive a HK$100 reward for each new referral. To qualify, the referred drivers must make at least five Octopus transactions worth HK$22 or more within the first 30 days of opening an account. Drivers can earn a maximum of 10 referral rewards, up to HK$1,000 in total. Octopus will also give newly registered taxi drivers complimentary Octopus Mobile POS devices and waive their transaction fees.

Mr. Ying added: “By opening up our network for other payment service providers, Mainland visitors now have an option to scan and pay, in addition to tapping their Mobile Octopus and Octopus cards – solving a major pain point for many Mainland visitors attempting to pay digitally in Hong Kong taxis.”