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Lauren Chan

Octopus’ contactless e-wallet has not gone down well with users, who expressed surprise at the lack of incentives to motivate Apple users to adopt the new feature and said rival operators offered better payment methods.
Users who want to take their Octopus cards online must download an ­Octopus app, pay HK$228 for a card reader and pair it via Bluetooth with an iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad.
But online user “Joseph Lau2” complained that it cost “two hundred something, who is willing to pay?” and that with competitor Apple Pay “you just only scan your credit card, done. That is it!”
Hong Kong’s Octopus set to launch e-wallet app for Apple devices
An Octopus spokesman said it was just another accessory and it did not intend to subsidise users.
Wednesday’s launch is regarded as the company’s latest effort to target the large number of people in the city using iPhones and fend off competition from Apple Pay.
Apple Pay, which launched in Hong Kong last week, uses TouchID fingerprint recognition technology to allow users to make contactless payments in about 10,000 stores around the city. Octopus does not support this technology, unlike rivals such as Alipay, WeChat apps and Tencent Pay.
Critics said e-wallets were meant to reduce the use of physical cash and cards, but adding hardware to an e-wallet “made absolutely no sense”.
The Octopus spokesman insisted the contactless card was “simple, fast, reliable and affordable to all”, and provided “offline and online payment choices ... covering almost all walks of life”.
Octopus cards are widely used for public transport, paying for small items in shops, and for gaining access to residential and commercial premises.
Despite the hefty price tag for the reader, Octopus told the Post it was a “useful” option for customers.
This is not an issue for Android smartphone users. Since 2013 they have been able to purchase an embedded Octopus SIM that allows them to use their phone to add value and make contactless payments by tapping their phone onto point-of-sale terminals in stores.
Octopus’ two e-wallet apps aimed to make the system more convenient than ever, but the technical obstacles were the result of security concerns, according to Dr Cheng Lee-ming, professor of electronic engineering at City University.
We are confident that our ... enhancements over the years are widely accepted and used by our customers
Octopus statement
“The card reader was designed so that the Octopus’ key would remain in the reader, not the phone,” Cheng said, referring to the security key or code that could allow hackers to access the funds stored inside all Octopus cards.
Although technically Octopus only needed to insert its key code into iPhone software to allow the phone to make contactless payments, like rival app Alipay of Alibaba, Cheng said the process to make payments via Octopus secured and accepted in stores would be “very complex”.
However, Octopus insisted that it had been moving with the times, saying: “We are confident that our ... enhancements over the years are widely accepted and used by our customers,” having created “extra value and brand new payment experience to our customers.”
Hong Kong stored value payment start-up TNG has also entered the race and plans to allow it to be used to pay bus fares in a few months. It has about 300,000 active registered users and is available on about 2,000 taxis and 500 stores.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.


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Octopus CEO Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong demonstrates the technology. Photo: Jonathan Wong

An 'Octopus' stored value card is displayed above a card scanner at a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in Hong Kong on July 27, 2010. The company behind the 'Octopus' stored-value card scheme disclosed that it had made around 5.6 million USD by selling the personal data of its users, during a special hearing to Hong Kong's privacy commissioner. AFP PHOTO / MIKE CLARKE / AFP PHOTO / MIKE CLARKE [25APRIL2016 FEATURES DIGITAL]

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Customers express surprise at need to pay HK$228 for a card reader
