HKers may use Octopus in Japan starting the third quarter

Hong Kongers will be able to use Octopus cards in Japan as early as the third quarter of the year to facilitate more convenient trips.

Octopus is discussing with major Japanese payment platforms to enable such usage and is expected that Hongkongers can use the Octopus mobile application in Japan at the initial stage.

This came after the company launched Thailand's PromptPay QR code payment in its app in 2023 and Zero Pay in South Korea last year.

Meanwhile, tourists will be able to take public transportation in Hong Kong, Macau and some 336 mainland cities with a single Octopus card within the third quarter of the year, as Octopus plans to launch a new tourist card connecting with the China T-union card.

The company will also add a new function to its mobile application, enabling Octopus holders to call online-ride hailing vehicles in mainland, with the commencement data expected to be as early as this month.

In a media luncheon on Tuesday, Octopus chief executive officer Tim Ying Tien-chi shared that Octopus remained the first payment option of tourists to Hong Kong, as the number of tourists using mobile Octopus tripled last year compared to the previous year.

“Currently, seven in 10 tourists are using Octopus and the usage of mobile Octopus also increased by 300 percent year-on-year in 2024,” Ying said.

Ying added that the company is committed to stress the “pain point” of outdated payment methods in local taxis.

The number of Octopus e-payment machines installed in taxis has surged by four times since its launching in 2020, with the transaction volume growing by over 67 percent last year.

The city’s five licensed taxi fleets, which are expected to fully commence service by July, are all equipped with Octopus readers, enabling passengers to pay fees by Octopus, Alipay, UnionPay, and more.

Ying said the company will also launch more Octopus images targeting younger generation, noting that over one-third of its app users are Generation Z – people who were born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s.

Octopus chairwoman Jenny Yeung Mei-chun compared the Octopus cards to local speciality Pineapple buns saying, “tourists love using Octopus as a way to experience Hong Kong’s lifestyle.”

The company therefore will launch a new set of tourist physical cards with three different card images featuring mainland and Hong Kong attractions, such as Tian’anmen Square in Beijing, the tram in Hong Kong and Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai.

The new card will connect with the mainland transport card China T-union, which can be used in over 300 mainland cities and Macau, while users can recharge the card in Hong Kong dollars and it will automatically convert to local currency.

The company will also launch a new person-to-person method in the second half of the year, allowing mobile Octopus users to tap to transfer money to another user’s account through mobile phones.

(Ayra Wang)