Octopus mobile payment app O! ePay raises transaction limit amid intensifying competition in Hong Kong
Octopus Cards has launched updated versions of its smartphone app O! ePay that allow person-to-person payment and easier online transactions.
The maximum amount that can be transferred has been raised to HK$3,000 a day from HK$3,000 every two days using the basic version of the app, but upgrades are available.
The launch comes after the company secured one of the city’s first licences in August to offer stored-value mobile payment facilities. The Monetary Authority is looking to regulate the fast-expanding sector in Hong Kong.
Competition for online payment services is set to intensify, with 13 providers – including Alipay Wallet, WeChat Pay and Tap & Go – run by PCCW’s HKT – losing no time seizing market share after also securing licences.
Alipay is owned and operated by Ant Financial Services, which is an affiliated company of Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.
“The new version of O! ePay takes advantage of the new stored-value facilities to bring customers a better experience,” Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong, chief executive of Octopus Cards, said.
Three versions of the Octopus app, with daily transaction limits ranging from HK$3,000 to HK$10,000, were launched.
Users can pay one another through their smartphones without using any cash.
The registration process has also been simplified, with customers as young as 12 years old able to activate accounts by simply submitting their mobile phone number and email address.
Users can top up their accounts at 7-Eleven stores and 21 banks.
Cheung said he hoped one day the number of Octopus mobile payment accounts would match the number of physical cards in the city, which number 30 million.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Octopus payment app ups limit amid competition
