Skip to main content

Octopus to deploy China transit pay card 

Contactless solution will be available to transport users in 300 cities in mainland China
By Ben Spencer April 26, 2021 Read time: 2 mins
New Octopus cards will have maximum top-up value of HK$3,000 (© Somchai Rak-in | Dreamstime.com)

Hong Kong-based payment operator Octopus Holdings is to launch a transit card for more than 300 cities in mainland China.

In a report in the South China Morning Post, Octopus CEO Angus Lee Chun-ming explains that transit card users will be able to pay for buses and in rail transit to ferries in mainland China by the end of 2021 or early next year. 

The company also wants to collaborate with contactless payment platforms in other Asian countries to establish a technology that will allow its e-wallet users in Hong Kong to pay for services in Macau, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

“We have applied to join the China T-Union, the nationwide one-card payment system led by the Ministry of Transport. That will enable Octopus physical-card holders to pay for public transport fares in mainland China,” Lee is quoted as saying. 

China T-Union – operated by Beijing China Communications Gold Card Technology – allows users to pay by swiping the prepaid anonymous Union One card on public transport in more than 300 mainland cities.

“We will issue a new card with a maximum top-up value of HK$3,000 (US$386) that will be compatible with the electronic payment standards in the city and the mainland for holders,” Lee adds. 

The service can be upgraded to digital Octopus cards in the phase two development.

“The card will be denominated in Hong Kong dollars,” Lee continues. “Octopus will arrange the currency settlement with the mainland partner.” 

The Octopus card does not store any personal information, the firm says.

Octopus was selected by the government to help distribute HK$5,000 in spending vouchers to Hong Kong residents to help repair the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Covid-19 has caused Octopus to put its plans to expand overseas on hold. 

Lee admits that the coronavirus pandemic has “delayed discussions with partners” and the “testing exercises” but hopes the service will launch in the next couple of years. 
 

Related Content

  • Looking forward to CARTES 2014 in Europe, Asia and America
    November 20, 2013
    2014 will see CARTES events in Asia and America – and don’t forget to put a note in your diary for CARTES Secure Connexions Event 2014 to be held from 4 to 6 November in Paris Welcome to Day 3 of the CARTES Secure Connexions Event 2013. This is the last day of the show and we hope you have enjoyed everything so far - and will continue to get a great deal out of the sessions and conferences. We are proud to announce that we have excellent indicators in terms of registered visitor numbers at the show. Gen
  • Istanbul tops world's commute times: Moovit
    December 14, 2022
    MaaS provider's 2022 Global Public Transport Report looks at variety of post-Covid metrics
  • Gogoro to list on Nasdaq
    September 24, 2021
    Battery-swap firm says it has accumulated more than $1bn revenue in less than five years
  • China Telecom selects Gemalto contactless payment
    March 24, 2015
    Amsterdam-based digital security provider Gemalto is to provide China Telecom with a mobile contactless payment solution using its UpTeq Multi-tenant NFC SIMs to deploy secure NFC transport services in China's two largest cities, Shanghai and Beijing. China Telecom is a leading operator in the country with more than 183 million subscribers. This deployment will enable up to 45 million daily commuters to travel on the metro and pay for everyday purchases with a simple tap of their smartphone. The NFC SIMs ar