Octopus looks to further expand presence in Chinese mainland

Octopus Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region-based electronic payment system, said it plans to further strengthen its cooperation with Chinese mainland industrial players, as people from the mainland and the city are traveling more frequently, especially in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Octopus recently launched a service in 336 Chinese mainland cities that enables Hong Kong residents to swipe their cards when taking public transport such as buses and subways in those cities.

As the world's first transport card that allows single-balance dual currency usage, the service will automatically convert to renminbi when used in the Chinese mainland after consumers deposit Hong Kong dollars in the card.

"More than 60,000 Octopus cards that are designed to be used in the Chinese mainland have been sold, and the accumulated transaction amount has exceeded HK$40 million ($5.14 million)," said Tim Ying, CEO of Octopus. "In Chinese mainland cities such as Urumqi of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the cards are also being used."

In the past few years, fueled by the GBA's development and the deepening of economic and cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, more Hong Kong residents have been traveling to the Chinese mainland for business and leisure, as they pursue more diversified lifestyles.

Last year, residents from the SAR made 53 million visits to the Chinese mainland, equivalent to an average of seven trips per year, per person, according to the local government.

"Convenient payment methods stand as a necessary tool for the flow and development of society and the economy. The integration of infrastructure such as easier payment methods has helped promote economic exchanges between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland," said Wang Pengbo, a senior analyst at market consultancy Botong Analysys.

"More convenient payment methods can help increase transaction frequencies and strengthen economic and social connections between different regions. It will also help raise the sense of identification and belonging of consumers involved."

Wang added that the usage of the digital renminbi, mobile payments, bank card payments and cash is constantly being optimized, especially for Hong Kong residents who frequently visit and use subways, restaurants and supermarkets in the mainland.

In 2022, Octopus partnered with China UnionPay to launch a QR payment mobile app in the Chinese mainland, as well as in overseas markets such as Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.

During the recent National Day holiday break this year, the usage rate of Octopus UnionPay QR codes by Hong Kong residents in the Chinese mainland jumped by 50 percent year-on-year, Octopus said.

"We are actively exploring more consumption scenarios to further expand the acceptance of Octopus in the mainland. Besides public transportation, we hope to develop more usage methods in retail, dining and other sectors," Ying said.

In another development, Octopus recently partnered with WeChat Pay to launch a mini program on WeChat that allows mainland consumers to deposit renminbi in their Octopus cards through WeChat Pay before they arrive in Hong Kong, saving them from having to exchange currencies and wait in lines for the top-up.

The service, launched in late October, only supports Android phones for the moment, though Octopus has said that it is evaluating the possibility of expanding the service to more phone models and systems in the future.

More Chinese mainland travelers are visiting Hong Kong. During the National Day holiday in early October, Chinese mainland travelers made over 1.2 million visits to Hong Kong, an addition of 100,000 visits over the same period of last year, according to the immigration department of the local government of Hong Kong.

Over the period, Octopus said it recorded $100 million in transaction value by inbound tourists.

Its retail spending jumped by nearly 30 percent year-on-year among tourists using Octopus mobile apps.