Doot! More payment options for taxi passengers

Passengers can pay their taxi fares using UnionPay or Alipay, but only to 21,000 taxi drivers with the updated Octopus payment app as Octopus yesterday said it will open its electronic payment platform for taxis from January 25.

Passengers can open the payment app on their phone and scan the QR code on the Octopus Bluetooth payment machine, said Octopus Cards Limited product director Andy Yip King-sang.

"Once they hear a 'doot' sound, it means the payment is successful," he said.

Yip also said Octopus has decided to adopt "dual-use QR codes" in cooperation with UnionPay and Alipay.

"Mainland visitors now have an option to scan and pay, in addition to tapping their mobile Octopus and Octopus card. This solves a major problem for many mainland visitors attempting to pay digitally in Hong Kong taxis," Octopus chief executive officer Tim Ying Tien-chi said.

"This [electronic payment platform] is a win-win-win solution for drivers, riders and payment ecosystems."

Currently, there are about 40,000 active taxi drivers in Hong Kong, and approximately 21,000 of them can accept payments through the Octopus app for business, said Octopus sales and marketing director Rita Li Yuk-yi.

"The biggest competitor for Octopus in the taxi market is cash," she said.

The total amount of taxi transactions in the app - from 2019 to 2023 - has already reached HK$1 billion, Li said.

Taxi drivers who currently accept payments through the Octopus app do not need to apply again for the new e-payment methods, she said.

They only need to update the app and will then be set to accept payments from more payment platforms.

Cabbies just need to enter the payment amount into the updated app, and passengers can tap their Octopus card or scan the QR code on the paired Octopus mobile POS to pay, Li said.

There is a huge demand for electronic payments as the majority of tourists visiting Hong Kong are mainlanders, she said.

Octopus hoped that passengers who are unable to pay because they do not have cash on hand can enjoy the extra alternative, she said.

Li also said Octopus will continue to waive transaction fees for taxi drivers until the end of next year to encourage cabbies to sign up.

Since the launch of the Octopus app for business in 2018, Octopus has consistently waived transaction fees for taxi drivers.

Li said the company will decide whether to start charging a fee based on market demand until the end of next year.

A referral program will also be rolled out to get more taxi drivers to use the app.

Until March 31, drivers who successfully refer their colleagues to open an Octopus app account will receive HK$100 for each referral. Each taxi driver can refer up to 10 new drivers, earning up to HK$1,000 in total.

The referred drivers must make at least five Octopus transactions worth HK$22 or more within the first month after opening an account.