Hong Kong transit operator to test WeChat Pay and Alipay

Contactless competition: WeChat Pay is coming to Hong Kong’s MTR, and Alipay may not be far behind — South China Morning Post — “Commuters on Hong Kong’s MTR will soon be given a new quick payment option as the railway operator has partnered with the mainland’s second-largest mobile payment provider WeChat Pay, it announced on Thursday. WeChat Pay’s main rival, Alipay, said it would follow suit in the ‘near future’… While the initiative arguably benefits mainland tourists more than Hongkongers, it breaks a 20-year stronghold by the contactless Octopus card on how train fares can be paid for.”

One comment on this article

  1. Octopus really need to truly step up as their apps are rather not so useful and not interconnected with other payment platforms like Android, Apple, and Samsung Pay. I can’t use O! ePay directly to ride buses, ferries, and the MTR without topping up an existing physical card. Their Mobile SIM is limited to csl, 1010, and SUN Mobile (cannot get the SIM at China Mobile and SmarTone) and it’s an optional feature rather than standard. If Octopus follows the Suica model where Apple Pay is supported for in-person transactions and card top-up (both virtual and linked cards and both in-app and at Add Value machine), it has a better chance of winning new users including tourists.

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