People in the technology, catering, and insurance industries have urged the Hong Kong government not to impose restrictions on the registration of stored-value SIM cards for commercial purposes.

This came after Hong Kong proposed the introduction of a real-name registration for smartphone cards last month, as one can only buy no more than three prepaid cards of a single telecom.

The move aims to crack down on anonymous prepaid card-related crimes, after Macau imposed a new cybersecurity law in late 2019 that makes it necessary to register for SIM cards, including prepaid cards, using their real names.

However, it drew criticism that the Hong Kong government is trying to use the system to monitor online activities and that the public consultation period is too short.

To that end, the government announced on February 8 that the consultation period will be extended to March 20.

Technology insiders say that software developers usually purchase over a 100 stored-value cards for systems testing. The companies have to go to over 30 telecom vendors to get what they need under the new policy, otherwise, they are forced to switch to phone cards without voice communication, which may cause trouble in developing some software functions.

In fact, other industries, including logistics, insurance, and catering, need to use around eight to 10 stored-value cards for daily operations to control costs.

Simon Wong Kit-lung, president of the Institution of Dining Art, reveals that large restaurants often buy eight to 10 prepaid cards for the information department to communicate with the clients directly, while teahouses would receive orders via social applications with the cheapest card.

This comes as credit card machines and terminals that receive takeout orders also require stored-value cards, says Wong, and operating costs for the catering industry are expected to go up under the new policy as restaurants need to switch to monthly plans.

As for insurers, they may need to provide staff with prepaid cards to do market research and attract new customers, people familiar with the matter say.

People in those industries say that the government should make exceptions on calling cards to companies with business registrations.

Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, says that the proposed limits on prepaid card registration deprives individual and corporate customers of choice, however, Macau has no upper limit on the number of registration.

Although the government claims that the regulations will not affect machine-to-machine (M2M) phone cards and Internet of Things service, Fong believes that it hinders the development of information technology.

Kenny, who is engaged in software development, points out that developers need dozens or even more than a 100 prepaid cards to test smartphones of different brands and models, which involves voice tests that cannot replaced by M2M phone cards.

When developing retail-related software, it should be taken into consideration that both sellers and buyers need to communicate via voice call, such as table booking, says Kenny.

If one switches to phone cards without voice communication, the procedure of software testing or development may be affected, Kenny says.

On the other hand, Tony Hau, chief executive at mobile virtual network operator Multibyte Info Technology, says registration for mobile phone cards is a general trend, but he suggests some exceptions.

Some in the telecommunication industry estimate that revenue will dive sharply by 80 percent, says Roy Law, chairman of Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association.

Sim rules stir up business concerns