Octopus will launch a new card that will allow Hongkongers to conveniently pay for their rides on Mainland Chinese bus and trains. According to media reports, the card can be used in more than Mainland 300 cities and will be available by the second quarter of 2024.
Initially, the new Octopus card will be available at specific MTR stations, including the West Kowloon Station that serves as the Hong Kong departure point for the High Speed Rail — a railway system that directly connects the SAR with several stations in Mainland China. Users can top up their cards in Hong Kong Dollars, which will be automatically converted to Renminbi.
Hongkongers can use the new Octopus cards in the SAR as well, and can top them up for a maximum of HK$3,000, the same as the limit on a regular Octopus. These cards can be recharged at any Octopus top-up machine or on the Octopus app. However, in Mainland China, users can only put 1,000 yuan (HK$1,100) at most on the card.
This development comes after Octopus announced that passengers who use Hong Kong taxis can pay for their cab rides using UnionPay, Alipay, and AlipayHK via QR codes linked to Octopus fare machines. In addition, MTR passengers can use Visa debit or credit cards to pay their domestic train fares in Hong Kong.
Header image credits: hisnatadecoco via Flickr
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