More than 40,000 Hong Kong cabbies register to accept Octopus payments

More than 40,000 Hong Kong taxi drivers have registered to accept Octopus payments, ahead of an electronic payment mandate that will take effect next month, with a sector representative urging authorities to exercise discretion during the initial phase of the roll-out.

On April 1, all cabbies will be required to offer at least two electronic payment options to passengers as part of a broader plan to enhance the quality and image of taxi services.

Hong Kong has about 46,000 active taxi drivers, according to the Transport Department, with the registration figure representing about 85 per cent of cabbies.

Authorities have stipulated that cabbies must offer at least one QR code option – such as AlipayHK, WeChat Pay HK or BoC Pay – alongside a non-scanning alternative, which includes Octopus, credit cards or the Faster Payment System (FPS).

On Sunday, Octopus said more than 40,000 drivers had registered for the Octopus App for Business or adopted the Bluetooth-enabled mobile point-of-sale (POS) system, representing a 40 per cent increase in users and a 65 per cent uptick in transaction value year on year.

The company said it had waived the bank account fund transfer handling fee for taxi drivers since the launch of the app in 2018, in a bid to lower the entry barriers and promote the industry’s transition to electronic payments.