“Apple Pay is finally coming to Hong Kong’s Octopus card system after rumors first surfaced last month that it would be part of iOS 13.
“Octopus cards were rolled out in 1997 and quickly became one of the world’s most successful cash transit cards.
“Aside from buses, ferries, the subway and tram, Octopus is accepted nearly everywhere: pharmacies, supermarkets, coffee shops, vending machines, and more. In fact, even though Apple Pay is fast and convenient, it’s still faster just to tap an Octopus card on a payment processor…”
(Hong Kong,11 Jul 2019) Octopus Cards Limited is excited to announce that customers will be able to use their Octopus on their iPhone or Apple Watch for transit and retail payment with Apple Pay later this year. More details will be shared soon. @MacRumors @9to5mac @appleinsider pic.twitter.com/e2wurzcKgs
— tommie (@TWaIIk) July 11, 2019
Hong Kong’s Octopus Cards Limited issued the following press release:
“Committed to providing innovative Octopus payment services to meet customers’ diverse payment needs, Octopus Cards Limited is excited to announce that customers will be able to use their Octopus on their iPhone or Apple Watch for transit and retail payment with Apple Pay later this year. More details will be shared soon.”
Apple has been working toward ensuring Apple Pay works on mass transit systems. It has introduced Apple Pay Transit in Japan, Beijing, Shanghai and parts of New York city, with London also set to come online later this year.
Here’s how Apple describes Apple Pay Transit:
“When you enter and exit the ticket gates, simply hold the top of your iPhone or the display of your Apple Watch within a few centimeters of the middle of the ticket gate scanner until you feel a vibration. You’ll see Done and a checkmark on the display. Your iPhone or Apple Watch must be turned on, but it doesn’t have to be connected to a network. With Express Transit, you don’t need to validate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode, and you don’t need to wake or unlock your device or open an app.”
MacDailyNews Take: If there’s one sure fire way to convince people to use Apple Pay it’s the simplicity and convenience of being able to swipe your iPhone or tap your Apple Watch to use mass transit is it.
Commuters soon become converts to things like that.
