Octopus: The Growing E-payment System in Hong Kong

Abstract

Although debit/cash cards based on smart card technology promised to bring forth the end of loose change, very few managed to gain critical mass or come close to totally eliminating coins including those supported by major credit card operators (e.g., Visa Cash and Mondex). In this paper, we discuss a specific system – Octopus – which not only gained momentum among the passenger transportation industry in Hong Kong, but also expanded into other payment channels such as fast food outlets and snack machines. We examine the factors why Octopus has been successful despite most micro-payment systems failing to gain critical mass let alone expand their customer base. Finally, we conclude that convenience factors, a specific set of societal factors and its management strategy to expand from a captive market towards a generic micro-payment system had been instrumental to the growth of this e-payment system.