Seamless mainland travels with new Octopus cards

Hongkongers can use the new Octopus-China T-Union Card to travel in more than 336 mainland cities starting today.

"Customers will be able to use the card to pay for transport fares anywhere in the mainland with the China T-Union logos," Octopus Cards said.

The new card can be used in 38,000 public bus routes, 285 rail transit lines, as well as ferries in over 336 mainland cities.

The card costs HK$88 and can be purchased at all Circle K stores and MTR customer service centers at seven designated MTR stations - Sheung Shui, Lok Ma Chau, Fanling, Tsuen Wan, Kowloon Tong, Hung Hom and Admiralty.

The card, however, cannot be used for retail payment. China T-Union is a national transit card brand in the mainland that covers over 320 cities.

Users can top up the card in Hong Kong dollars through the Octopus mobile app, add-value machine at MTR stations, or use cash at designated locations such as retail outlets and Shenzhen UnionPay EPS kiosks.

Fares will be deducted in yuan when used in the mainland.

"The card is automatically updated with the market foreign exchange rate effective on the top-up date or during balance inquiry through the Octopus app by tapping the card on the back of a mobile device," it said. The exchange rate will be valid for up to 90 days.

Users can also check the current exchange rate and track the past 10 exchange rates and transaction records if they register their cards with the Octopus app. The new card will not require a deposit and can store up to HK$3,000.

The company said some card readers in the mainland may not be able to show the remaining value of the card when it exceeds HK$1,000 due to different settings.

In Hong Kong, the card works the same as the current Octopus card and is accepted in over 180,000 Octopus acceptance points for transportation, shopping and dining, the company added.

Mainland visitors can pay bus fares with their national renminbi transit cards for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus from Hong Kong to Zhuhai and Macau.

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com