Many Hong Kongers say the bare minimum to leave the house with is your phone and your Octopus card. Starting Tuesday, you might not even need the latter.
The Octopus card is now integrated with Apple Pay, meaning that you can use your iPhone to pay for MTR rides, meals and groceries with your Octopus balance.
Gone are the days of fumbling through your pockets for your Octopus card while holding up a line of angry rush-hour commuters. The contact-less digital payment method allows you to tap your phone—which you’re probably already holding as you approach that MTR turnstile—over the censor, just as you would with the physical card. There’s no need to open an app or wake your device.
The feature is also supported on Apple Watch Series 3 or newer.
To get started with the feature, you can move the balance from your existing Octopus card to your phone by opening the Octopus app and selecting “transfer Octopus card.” Note that doing so would invalidate your physical card.
Another option is purchasing a new Octopus card via the iOS Wallet app. Then, add the card and top it up with a minimum value of HK$100. You will also have to pay a $50 refundable deposit.
For added security, you can turn on biometric authentication, which will require a face or fingerprint scan before payment is made.
Cash can be topped up digitally via your bank account without any service fees.
