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70-415: The NETS Group (comprising NETS, BCS and BCSIS) provides a full suite of payments and financial processing services including direct debit and credit payments at point-of-sale (NETS) and online (eNETS), mobile payments (NETSPay), card services (CashCard, FlashPay card), electronic funds transfer (FAST, PayNow , GIRO) and payment and clearing solutions (Real-Time Gross Settlement, Cheque Truncation System). NETS

140-466: A joint-venture business , then known as Creative Star Limited. After three years of trials, the Octopus card was launched on 1 September 1997. Three million cards were issued in the first three months. The system's quick success was because MTR and KCR required all holders of Common Stored Value Tickets to replace them with Octopus cards within three months or have their tickets expire. Another reason

210-515: A UnionPay credit card, they can also purchase new Octopus cards in Huawei Wallet. The Australia-based company ERG Group (now Vix Technology ) was selected in 1994 to lead development of the Octopus project. It designed, built and installed the Octopus system. Operations, maintenance and development were undertaken by Octopus Cards Limited, and in 2005, it replaced the central transaction clearing house with its own system. The Octopus card

280-653: A bank after one working day, so drivers could be left over a weekend or longer waiting for their account to be reconciled. Installation and service fees are also a concern. Wong Yu-ting, the managing director of the Yellow Taxi Group, wanted retailers to offer discounts to Octopus taxi passengers, but the Transport Department objected as taxi fare discount is illegal in Hong Kong. In March 2018, Octopus Cards Limited announced plans to re-enter

350-560: A bus in Hong Kong without using the Octopus card requires giving exact change, making it cumbersome compared to using the Octopus card. By November 1998, 4.6 million cards had been issued, and rising to 9 million by January 2002. In 2000, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted a deposit-taking company licence to the operator. This increased the proportion of permitted non-transport–related Octopus card transactions from 15% of turnover to 50%. About HK$ 416 million

420-594: A central database or computer. The stored data may be transmitted after hours, or in the case of offline mobile readers, may be retrieved by a hand held device, for example a Pocket PC . In practice, different data collection mechanisms are used by different transport operators, depending on the nature of their business. The MTR equips its stations with local area networks that connect the components that deal with Octopus cards – turnstiles , Add Value Machines, value-checking machines and customer service terminals. Transactions from these stations are relayed to

490-643: A free NETS Prepaid Card at SimplyGo Ticket Offices or Ticketing Service Centres. Due to bottlenecks, high transaction volume, and technical issues with the SimplyGo transition on both EZ-Link and NETS payment networks, NETS announced that the free exchange for NETS Prepaid Cards which was planned to commence on 19 January 2024 has been postponed until further notice. NETS EFTPOS is a nationwide infrastructure that enables DBS, HSBC, Maybank , OCBC, POSB, UOB and Standard Chartered Bank customers to make purchases at points-of-sale using their ATM cards. The NETS EFTPOS service

560-467: A new China T-union version card, which could be used in 336 mainland China cities. The Cantonese name for the Octopus card, Baat Daaht Tùng ( Chinese : 八 達 通 ), translates literally as "eight-arrived pass", where Baat Daaht may translate as "reaching everywhere". Less literally, the meaning is taken as the "go-everywhere pass". It was selected by the head of the MTR Corporation,

630-720: A payment business, Octopus Cards Limited is regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Octopus' non-payment businesses are not subjected to such regulation and are operated by other subsidiaries of Octopus Holdings Limited. As of 2007, Octopus Holdings Limited was a joint-venture business owned by five transport companies in Hong Kong; 57.4% by the MTR Corporation, 22.1% by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, 12.4% by Kowloon Motor Bus, 5% by Citybus, and 3.1% by New World First Bus. The Government of Hong Kong owns 76.54% of

700-467: A physical CashCard/FlashPay into the in-vehicle unit or having insufficient value in the CashCard/FlashPay and paying unnecessary ERP admin fees. Motorists can sign up for auto top-up service and view their ERP transactions at the vCashCard website or NETS vCashCard app from App Store or Google Play. In May 2018, the 2nd generation contactless CashCard was released. The CEPAS CashCard card

770-502: A single standardised QR code for e-payments. The participating payment schemes for the NETS unified e-payment system at hawkers centres include: ActiveSG, Alipay, American Express, Singtel Dash, DBS PayLah, Diners Club International, Discover, EZ-Link, GrabPay, SLIDE Wallet, LifeUp Pay, LiquidPay, NETSPay, OCBC PayAnyone, RazerPay, Standard Chartered, UnionPay, UOB Mighty, VIA by Singtel, WeChat Pay, Aby Pay, Shopee Pay, XNAP. In November 2023,

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840-474: A software update, as previously only chip-and-pin NETS debit payment was available. Merchants may display decals in stores to advertise acceptance of QR and contactless payments. Customers can identify if NETS QR and NETS Contactless are accepted by looking at the options listed on the payment terminal's menu. On the Castles VEGA3000 and Ingenico Desk/Move5000 terminals issued since late 2022-2023,

910-553: A storage capacity of 1 to 64  kB , compared to 125 bytes provided by magnetic stripe cards. Octopus pre-dates the ISO/IEC 14443 standards so uses a nonstandard RFID system. The operating range of the reader/writer is between 30 and 100 mm (1.2 and 3.9 in) depending on the model used. Octopus is designed so that transactions are relayed for clearing on a store and forward basis, without any requirement for reader units to have realtime round-trip communications with

980-405: A vehicle operated by Hong Kong Monetary Authority . There are two main types of Octopus card ( On-Loan and Sold ), and two less common types ( Airport Express Tourist and MTR Airport Staff ). On-Loan cards are issued for use in day-to-day functions, primarily for fare payment in transport systems. They are further classified into Child , Adult , Elder , and Personalised categories, with

1050-588: Is a digital wallet app. Launched in October 2017, it introduces 2 new payment options for NETS debit, NETS Contactless and NETS QR . NETS Contactless is supported on Android devices via NFC and HCE , and NETS QR is supported on Android & iOS devices via QR code . ATM cardholders can digitise their bankcards with the app, replacing the debit card chip and PIN transaction at point-of-sale terminals that have been upgraded to accept contactless and QR code payments. Fingerprint ID or passcode authentication

1120-660: Is a near-instant real-time payment system developed by Association of Banks in Singapore . The interface facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transactions. The system is supported by all major Singaporean banks and is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and works by transferring funds between two bank accounts. Payments can be made to any registered Singaporean mobile number , NRIC , corporate Unique Entity Number (UEN) or Virtual Payment Address (VPA). Scanning QR codes

1190-561: Is a reusable contactless stored value smart card for making electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong . Launched in September 1997 to collect fares for the territory's mass transit system , it has grown into a widely used system for transport and other retail transactions in Hong Kong. It is also used for purposes such as recording school attendance and permitting building access. The cards are used by 98 percent of

1260-633: Is accepted at more retail shops, including most convenience stores, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants. In October 2010, NETS launched the Auto Top Up service for the NETS FlashPay card, allowing commuters to automatically top up the value on their cards to a predetermined amount (S$ 30, S$ 40 or S$ 50) when it runs low or when there is insufficient stored value on the card to make payment at all MRT and LRT stations, public buses, ERP gantries and EPS (upgraded) carparks. The FlashPay Reader app

1330-512: Is also a member of the Asian Payment Network (APN) and a council member of UnionPay International. NETS was first introduced to the public on 27 June 1985 as a 2-month pilot project involving 10,000 ATM card holders from the five local banks, namely DBS Bank , OCBC Bank , UOB , POSB Bank and OUB through 64 terminals installed at participating government offices, supermarkets, department stores and petrol kiosks. The service

1400-428: Is also an option. PayNow is linked with other payment providers including Stripe , DuitNow (Malaysia), PromptPay (Thailand) and UPI (India). In 2020, 125 million transactions worth S$ 22 billion were processed through PayNow. The Bank for International Settlements signed an agreement with Central Bank of Malaysia , Bank of Thailand , Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas , Monetary Authority of Singapore , and

1470-477: Is an online payment gateway services. It enables payment from all major credit cards and currencies as well as Direct Debit (internet banking payments) from the major banks in Singapore and China, including DBS (Singapore and Hong Kong), UOB, OCBC, Citibank and BNU. NETS eCommerce was launched in 2016 to provide a quick and affordable end-to-end solution to set up webstores. The solution is integrated with secured payment options using eNETS Debit and Credit. NETSPay

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1540-586: Is available at more than 130,000 acceptance points throughout Singapore. NETS Unified POS was introduced to accept contact/contactless, credit and debit payments on one terminal. The terminal accepts NETS, NETS FlashPay, debit and credit schemes such as VISA, MasterCard, American Express, UnionPay and JCB, cards issued by partnering banks (e.g. BCA bank), as well as NFC-enabled mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. NETS Unified POS can be integrated with loyalty programmes, prepaid services and point-of-sale via Electronic Cash Register interface. eNETS

1610-574: Is based on the same specifications as the CEPAS FlashPay card, thus both cards can be used interchangeably. The Contactless CashCard was rebranded NETS Motoring Card in March 2021. The Singapore Government launched CEPAS 2.0 (Contactless e-Purse Application), a Singaporean specification of a common standard for electronic money smart card, in 2009. The transit market was opened to more issuers, enabling NETS to participate and subsequently launch

1680-469: Is not compatible with ERP and carpark payments. Top-ups are currently unavailable at self-help machines. (Card-based Offline Debit) It is the only stored-valued card which is compatible with 1st gen in-vehicle units and old carpark gantries that have not been upgraded since the release of the CEPAS specification in 2009. Card is transferrable. (* a service fee is chargeable) PayNow PayNow

1750-586: Is now commonly used in most public transport, fast food restaurants, supermarkets, vending machines , convenience stores, photo booths , parking meters , car parks , and many other retails business where small payments are frequently made. Over 33 million Octopus cards are in circulation as of 2018, with the card being used by 99 per cent of Hong Kong residents. Notable businesses that started accepting Octopus cards at an early stage included PARKnSHOP , Wellcome , Watsons , 7-Eleven , Starbucks , McDonald's , and Circle K . Between June 2003 and November 2004,

1820-703: Is recorded and the appropriate fare based on distance travelled is deducted when they validate their cards again at the exit point. The MTR usually charges less for journeys made using an Octopus card instead of conventional single-journey tickets. For example, the adult fare of a single journey from Chai Wan to Tung Chung is HK$ 25.7 with an Octopus card, and HK$ 28.5 with a single journey ticket. Other public transport operators also offer intermittent discounts for using Octopus cards on higher fares and round-trip transits on select routes. The first trial of using Octopus card readers in Hong Kong taxis started in June 2006 with

1890-501: Is required for entry. Payments are made by holding the card against or within a few centimetres of an Octopus card reader. The reader acknowledges payment by emitting a beep, and displaying the amount deducted and the remaining balance of the card. The standard transaction time for readers used for public transport is 0.3 seconds, and for retailers' card readers is 1 second. When using the MTR heavy rail system, each passenger's entry point

1960-524: Is required to access the app, with a user configurable session timeout. No PIN is required for transactions below $ 100. NETS Contactless ATM cards were launched from the first quarter of 2018. In December 2018, NETS Contactless cards issued by DBS/POSB, UOB, OCBC began to be accepted for LTA's public transport account-based ticketing trial. In May 2023, the NETS Contactless functionality was extended to Mastercard and Visa debit cards, in addition to

2030-469: Is the first major public transport system to use the Sony 13.56  MHz FeliCa radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. It is a contactless system, so users need only hold the card in close proximity to the reader. Data is transmitted at up to 212 kbit/s (the maximum speed for Sony FeliCa chips), compared to 9.6 kbit/s for other smart card systems like Mondex and Visa Cash . The card has

2100-465: Is the largest in Singapore and includes 54,000 Unified Point-of-Sale (Unified POS) terminals (which accept NETS, NETS FlashPay, debit and credit cards such as VISA , Mastercard , American Express , UnionPay , RuPay and JCB ) and 94,000 QR acceptance points (for payments via NETSPay, PayLah!, Pay Anyone and Mighty). In 2011, NETS' debit system was designated as national payment system by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). In November 2018, it

2170-412: The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a proof of concept for SGQR+, an upgraded version of SGQR that provides interoperability among a wide variety of payment schemes in a convenient and cost-effective way, through a single merchant acquirer. Merchants only need to maintain a relationship with a single preferred primary acquirer to accept multiple payment schemes, instead of multiple acquirers under

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2240-714: The Prepaid Card . Unlike the FlashPay card, the Prepaid Card uses online account based ticketing compatible with SimplyGo. The card can also be used for retail purposes. It is however not compatible with the ERP . On 10 January 2024, LTA announced that NETS FlashPay cards will no longer be accepted for public transport fare payment from 1 June 2024, due to phasing out of the legacy card-based ticketing system. Commuters with NETS FlashPay Cards may exchange their current card for

2310-516: The Reserve Bank of India on 30 June 2024 as founding member of Project Nexus, a multilateral international initiative to enable retail cross-border payments. Bank Indonesia involved as a special observer. The platform, which is expected to go live by 2026, will interlink domestic fast payment systems of the member countries. Octopus card The Octopus card ( Chinese : 八達通 ; Jyutping : baat3 daat6 tung1 , Cantonese )

2380-696: The mobile app was opportune during the COVID-19 pandemic , as it helped provide merchants customers with peace of mind regarding potential virus transmission. By July 2021, over 15,000 taxi drivers had installed Octopus Mobile POS. In collaboration with China UnionPay , Octopus Cards Limited introduced Octopus card usage to two Fairwood restaurants in Shenzhen in August 2006. In 2008, five Café de Coral locations in Shenzhen also started accepting Octopus. Value cannot be reloaded to Octopus cards in Shenzhen, but

2450-472: The "NETS EFTPOS Debit" and "NETS FlashPay" payment modes are combined into a single menu item as "NETS". Hence, the cashier only has to press a single selection for NETS on the newer terminals, instead of pressing separate selections for NETS EFTPOS Debit and NETS FlashPay payment on previous terminals. For purchase transactions that are not entered manually on the payment terminal, and are generated automatically by some integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems,

2520-487: The Automatic Add Value Service is available to automatically deduct money value from a customer's credit card to reload an Octopus card. The two Fairwood restaurants in Shenzhen that were enabled for Octopus card payments are located at Luohu Commercial City and Shenzhen railway station . Shenzhen became the first city outside Hong Kong in which Octopus cards may be accepted as payment. In Macau,

2590-551: The Hong Kong Government replaced its 17,000 parking meters with an Octopus card–operated system. Octopus card was then the only accepted form of payment until 2021 when new meters were introduced that accepted contactless payment , Faster Payment System and QR code payment. Octopus cards also double as access control cards in buildings and for school administrative functions. At certain office buildings, residential buildings, and schools, use of an Octopus card

2660-564: The KMB Customer Service Centre, New World First Ferry (NWFF) Octopus Service Centres, and the New World First Bus (NWFB) Customer Service Centre. A student on-loan Octopus Card was initially issued, but was discontinued in 2005. Above statuses have expiry date which can be checked at MTR enquiry machines. Holders may renew and extend their status period by application to MTR. Since 14 December 2017,

2730-679: The MTR Corporation (as of 31 December 2005) and wholly owns the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, so is the biggest effective shareholder of Octopus Holdings Limited, and of Octopus Cards Limited. The Octopus card is recognised internationally. It won the Chairman's Award at the World Information Technology and Services Alliance 's 2006 Global IT Excellence Awards for being the world's leading complex automatic fare collection and contactless smartcard payment system, and for innovative use of technology. In February 2007 it

2800-498: The MTR's Kowloon Bay headquarters through a Frame Relay wide area network , and then on to the central clearing house system (CCHS). Similar arrangements are in place for retailers such as 7-Eleven . Handheld devices are used to scan offline mobile readers, including those installed on minibuses. Buses either use handheld devices or a wireless system, depending on operator. The Octopus card uses encryption for all airborne communication and performs mutual authentication between

2870-508: The NETS FlashPay card on 9 October 2009. FlashPay is a multipurpose contactless stored value smart card that can be used for a huge variety of quick payments at/on – MRT/LRT, public buses, taxis, ERP gantries (with the dual-mode in-vehicle unit), car parks (which have been upgraded to accept CEPAS-compliant cards), and 102,000 retail acceptance points island-wide. It is comparable to the Octopus card in Hong Kong. Compared to EZ-Link, FlashPay

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2940-418: The Octopus card and system had never been hacked . Octopus card readers include a fail-safe that prevents them from initiating a transaction when more than one card is detected at a time. On 11 February 2009, Sing Tao Daily reported that the fail-safe has been abused for fare evasion through the railway station turnstile. Passengers were stacking four or more cards on the reader before breaking through

3010-678: The Octopus card for payment are located at the Rua do Campo and the Sands Casino . Shenzhen Tong cards are now widely used in Shenzhen instead, and a combined Shenzhen Tong – Hong Kong Octopus card is available, called the Hu Tong Xing, with RMB & HKD in different purses. The Macau Pass is now widely used in Macau. Spare coins can also be added on to Octopus cards at "Coin Carts",

3080-525: The Octopus card was introduced in December 2006 when two Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in the territory adopted its usage as payment. Similar to its usage in Shenzhen, an Octopus card may not be reloaded in Macau, and the currency exchange rate between the Macanese pataca and the Hong Kong dollar when using an Octopus card is MOP1:HKD1. The two Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Macau that adopted

3150-539: The Smart Octopus. All card value and reward points are transferred and held in the Samsung Pay app. The physical card is then deactivated and can no longer be used. Users can also choose to purchase a new Adult or Elder Smart Octopus in the app. Smart Octopus provides features like instant transaction notification and in-app top-up function. In-app top-ups initially incurred a 2.5% handling fee but this fee

3220-484: The Yellow Taxi Group in the New Territories . It was reported on 30 October that eight of the twenty taxis participating in the trial had dropped out. Part of the reason was technical – drivers needed to return to the office every day for accounting. Most taxi drivers in Hong Kong are self-employed and prefer to account their profit and rent on a daily basis, while Octopus transferred money through

3290-583: The card and reader based on the ISO 9798-2 three-pass mutual authentication protocol. In other words, data communications are only established when the card and reader have mutually authenticated based on a shared secret access key. This means that the security of the Octopus card system would be jeopardized should the access key be exposed. A stolen Octopus card reader could be used with stolen Octopus software, for example, to add value (up to HK$ 3,000) to any Octopus card without authorization. Nevertheless, as of 2003,

3360-419: The card information is stored on a central server, the card balance can be topped up without presence of physical card. ✓ It is compatible with the SimplyGo system for remote management of public transport cards. ✗ Fare cost and card balance will not be displayed at the gantry. Commuters have to create an account and sign in to the SimplyGo website or app, to view their travel history and its related fares. ✗ It

3430-446: The cardless Octopus, named "Smart Octopus", is available with Samsung Pay , a mobile payment platform provided by Samsung . By using the phone's NFC function and magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology, users can tap their selected Samsung devices on Octopus readers, paying in a similar way as a normal physical Octopus cards. Users can choose to transfer their card data from an existing anonymous On-Loan Adult or Elder Octopus to

3500-611: The chip and PIN transaction method. The NETSPay wallet was discontinued on 1 December 2020 and the NETSPay app was discontinued on 31 October 2023. In September 2018, it was announced that the Singapore government has appointed NETS as the master acquirer to unify and roll out e-payments to all 12,000 stalls at hawker centres, canteens and coffee shops in Singapore. The Government will cover transaction fees of 0.5% payable by merchants until 31 December 2024. The initiative began its roll out to hawker stalls starting from June 2019 under SGQR,

3570-1574: The existing system. Examples of similar integrated QR code payment systems in ASEAN include: QRIS in Indonesia, DuitNow in Malaysia, Thai QR in Thailand. Under the SGQR+ Proof of Concept, the stakeholders include Liquid Group (as Switch Operator) and NETS (as Master Merchant Acquirer). The participating payment schemes for SGQR+ Proof Of Concept include: ActiveSG, Alipay, Alipay+, Changi Pay, Diners, Discover, DuitNow, EZ-Link, GLN, Google Pay (via XNAP), GrabPay, iAPPS, LiquidPay, Mastercard, Moolahgo, NETS, PromptPay, ShopeePay, Singtel Dash, UnionPay, Visa, WeChat, XNAP. These terminals are issued to retailers to accept NETS debit, NETS FlashPay/CashCard, debit/credit card payments. Phased out in 2023 and replaced by Ingenico Desk 5000 Replaced by Ingenico Move 5000 Phased out in 2023-2024 and replaced by Ingenico Desk 5000 Current retailers as of 2024 include: Koufu food court , Burger King , McDonald's , Daiso , NTUC FairPrice (upgraded counters) Retailers that support NETS/NETS FlashPay/NETS QR single selection for cashier: Yoshinoya , Watsons , Breadtalk , Bengawan Solo Phased out in 2023-2024 and replaced by Ingenico Desk 5000 The launch of NETS QR and NETS Contactless in October 2017 required merchants' payment terminals to undergo

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3640-508: The first three based on age and different amounts of fare concession. With the exception of the Personalised cards, On-Loan cards are anonymous; no personal information, bank account, or credit card details are stored on the card, and no identification is required for the purchase of these cards. If an owner loses a card, only the stored value and the deposit of the card are lost. On-Loan Octopus cards may be purchased at all MTR stations,

3710-421: The iPhone or Apple Watch without needing to switch on the phone or authenticating the payment with Face ID , Touch ID , or password. Since 9 December 2020, Octopus card can be added to Huawei Pay. But it can only be used on Huawei phones sold in Hong Kong, Macau and China Users can download the Octopus app from Huawei AppGallery to purchase new Octopus cards or transfer physical Octopus cards. If users have

3780-454: The introduction of the in-vehicle unit in 1997. The CashCard can also be used for retail purchases. In May 2015, NETS launched vCashCard , a virtual wallet for road tolls payment that allows motorists to drive through Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries seamlessly. Road toll payments are automatically charged to their bank accounts or debit/credit cards. With NETS vCashCard, motorists do not need to worry about forgetting to insert

3850-487: The parent company of Octopus Cards Limited, in a naming competition in 1996. The number eight refers to the cardinal and ordinal directions , and the four-character idiom sei tùng baat daaht ( Chinese : 四 通 八 達 ), a common expression loosely translated as "reachable in all directions". Eight is also considered a lucky number in Chinese culture , and the phrase baat daaht can possibly be associated with

3920-476: The payment mode (NETS, NETS FlashPay, NETS QR) still needs to be selected separately on the POS system by the cashier. Auto-generated purchase transactions can be identified by a light blue background on the payment terminal's payment screen. 2014: EMV card 2017: Tap-to-pay (with contactless ATM cards & NETSPay mobile app) 2023: Tap-to-pay (with co-branded VISA debit cards) (Account-based Online Debit) As

3990-462: The population of Hong Kong aged 15 to 64 and the system handles more than 15 million transactions, worth over HK$ 220 million, every day. The Octopus card system was the world's second contactless smart card system, after the Korean Upass . It won the Chairman's Award at the World Information Technology and Services Alliance 's 2006 Global IT Excellence Awards for, among other things, being

4060-798: The same magnetic cards in 1984. The Common Stored Value Ticket was a version that held a balance for use over multiple trips. In 1989, the Common Stored Value Ticket system was extended to Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) buses providing a feeder service to MTR and KCR stations, and to Citybus . It was also extended to a limited number of non-transport applications, such as transactions and payments at photo booths and for fast food vouchers. In 1993, MTR Corporation announced it would move to use contactless smart cards. In 1994 it partnered with four other major transit companies in Hong Kong, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation , Kowloon Motor Bus , Citybus , and Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry , to create

4130-407: The shares of Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry were transferred to New World First Bus and New World First Ferry . In the same year, together with MTR Corporation, the company changed from non-profit making status to a profit making enterprise. Due to the expansion of the company's businesses, Octopus Holdings Limited was established in 2005 with Octopus Cards Limited restructured as a subsidiary. Being

4200-535: The similar-sounding faat daaht , which means "getting wealthy" ( Chinese : 發 達 ) in Cantonese. The English name Octopus card was also selected in the naming competition. It also references the number eight, since an octopus has eight tentacles . The logo used on the card features an infinity symbol . The Octopus card was originally introduced for fare payment on the MTR; but usage quickly expanded to other retail businesses in Hong Kong. The card

4270-490: The taxi payment market with a new mobile app for taxi drivers. The mobile app is able to receive funds by tapping the passenger's Octopus card to the device's Near-field communication (NFC) reader, or by allowing passengers to scan a QR code. In October 2020, Octopus Cards Limited launched Octopus Mobile POS, a more compact version of the Octopus reader to help taxi drivers and small- and medium-sized retailers accept cashless payments. The new Octopus Mobile POS, that works with

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4340-459: The turnstile, deliberately triggering the fail-safe to avoid deduction of credit from their cards. If challenged they could blame a malfunction and present an Octopus card with a record of an unsuccessful transaction. The Octopus card system is owned and operated by Octopus Cards Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Octopus Holdings Limited . Founded as Creative Star Limited in 1994, it was renamed Octopus Cards Limited in 2002. In January 2001,

4410-711: The world's leading complex automatic fare collection and contactless smart card payment system. Its success led to the development of similar systems elsewhere, including Navigo card in Paris , Oyster card in London , Opal card in New South Wales , and NETS FlashPay and EZ-Link in Singapore . When Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) began operations in 1979, it used recirculating magnetic stripe cards as fare tickets. The Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) adopted

4480-445: Was a coin shortage in Hong Kong in 1997. With the transfer of Hong Kong away from British rule, there was a belief that older Hong Kong coins embossed with Queen Elizabeth II 's head would rise in value, so many people held on to them waiting for their value to increase. The Octopus system was quickly adopted by other Creative Star partners. KMB reported that by 2000 most bus journeys were completed using an Octopus card. Boarding

4550-399: Was announced that NETS can be used at 4,500 acceptance points in Malaysia, allowing users of NETS enabled cards issued by DBS , POSB , OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank . NETS introduced the 1st generation chip-based CashCard in 1995. The CashCard is a stored value card that is predominantly used as a payment mode for Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) and car park charges since

4620-976: Was deposited in the Octopus system at any given time as of 2000. On 6 November 2005, Octopus Cards Limited launched Octopus Rewards, a program that allows cardholders to earn rewards with participating merchants. Founding partners for the Octopus Rewards program included HSBC , UA Cinemas and Wellcome. The rewards are in the form of points, or reward dollars , stored on the card. The rate at which reward points are earned per dollar spent differs between merchants. Reward points can be redeemed as payment for purchases at partner merchants for at least HK$ 1 per reward dollar. New cards with greater levels of security were launched in 2015. Holders of first generation cards could voluntarily replace their cards at an Octopus Service Point without charge. From January 2018, first generation cards started to become unusable. From 26 March 2024 onwards, Octopus Card Limited launched

4690-516: Was found that when customers added value to their cards at self-service add-value points in MTR and Light rail stations, their bank accounts were debited even if the transactions had been cancelled. Octopus Cards Limited claimed that the fault was due to an upgrade of communication systems. Initially, two cases were reported. The company then announced that use Electronic Payment Services (EPS) at add-value service points would be suspended until further notice, and that it had started an investigation into

4760-829: Was officially launched on 18 January 1986, allowing 1.3 million ATM card holders to make transactions through the initial NETS network of 195 terminals located in various retail outlets and by 1993, consumer spending through NETS reached S$ 1.14 billion. In 2020, NETS Group signed a long-term lease to two full floors and a ground-floor unit, at Boustead Projects' development, 351 on Braddell. NETS operates Singapore's national debit scheme enabling customers of DBS Bank , POSB , HSBC , Maybank , OCBC Bank , Standard Chartered Bank and UOB to make payments using their physical/contactless ATM cards or mobile devices at more than 120,000 acceptance points in Singapore including major retailers, food courts, hawker centres, convenience stores and supermarkets. The nationwide acceptance infrastructure

4830-544: Was released in February 2016 for Android devices with NFC capabilities. It allows topping up of FlashPay cards using NFC-enabled Android phones, with debit cards and credit cards as payment options. Cardholders can also check their card balance, card expiry date, view the last 30 transactions, register for Auto Top-Up by Credit/Debit Card and view RSVP balance with the FlashPay Reader. In November 2022, NETS launched

4900-557: Was removed in June 2020 when support for Apple Pay was launched. Since 2 June 2020, Octopus cards can be added to Apple Pay. As Octopus cards use FeliCa technology, only Apple Watch 3 , iPhone 8 , and subsequent model are supported. Octopus for Tourists was launched in August 2020. Users can choose to create a virtual Octopus card inside Apple Pay by topping up with their loaded credit cards, or to transfer data from an existing physical Octopus card. It supports Apple Pay's Express Transit function, which allows payments to be made from

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