HSBC to lower PayMe top-up limit

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation said it will lower the monthly top-up limit for PayMe via credit card to from HK$2,000 to HK$1,000 since October, which means credit cardholders can gain fewer points.

The bank said customers can still top up their PayMe account through the Faster Payment System or direct debit authorization services with accounts of 14 local banks. The monthly top-up limit via bank accounts will be HK$50,000.

The lender most recently lowered the monthly top-up limit from HK$5,000 in July last year.

A spokesman for HSBC said the bank will review the service details of the online payment platform and make adjustments according to the business environment and user experiences. Other digital payment platforms in the city, including WeChat Pay, lowered their monthly top-up limit via credit card to as high as HK$1,000, except AlipayHK, which still maintains its HK$2,000 limit, with no transaction fees.

Adding money into customers' PayMe accounts via bank accounts is regarded as a more convenient method, with a higher top-up limit, said the platform. But many current users top up their accounts with credit cards as a way to earn credit card points, and then transfer the money into their bank accounts.

Market watchers speculated that the lender cut the top-up limit for the platform as a result of entering a mature stage, with over 2 million local users, as well as limited room to further lower the limit, which would be inconvenient to transfer a large amount.