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Felix Chan

Technical problems could foil attempts by the issuers of Octopus cards to extend their retail rewards scheme to rail and bus commuters.

The Octopus Rewards scheme, which was launched this month and has attracted about 140,000 customers, allows  card-holders to earn rewards while making purchases or transactions at HSBC, UA Cinemas, Watsons and Wellcome, regardless of how they pay - cash, credit card, EPS or Octopus card.

The rewards - recorded on Octopus cards separately from the stored value - are in a  'loyalty currency' that can be redeemed  from participating retail outlets.

Octopus Cards Limited said yesterday it had held talks with transport operators about extending the scheme to their commuters, but admitted it would not be possible in the near future.

'The main problem is how the commuters can store their reward points on the cards without causing a delay in traffic movement, as such an action is going to take longer than the time of passing through the toll gates,' a spokesman said.

'It is not a problem at supermarkets, where shoppers are more tolerant about waiting another five to 10 seconds for their rewards to be added to the cards.

'In fact, the government has said it would not encourage the introduction of such loyalty reward schemes on public transport which, they fear, could result in congestion.'

Octopus said it was looking at various solutions, including self-service rewards booths near exit toll gates.

The MTR Corporation confirmed talks had been held, but said it had reservations because it already had its own loyalty scheme.

'If we have both schemes operating alongside each other, we are worried that there will be confusion and misunderstanding by our customers. So we will wait and see before deciding if we will join their scheme,' a spokesman said.

New World First Bus  and Citybus  said they were looking into the proposal but did not give details.

Earlier this month, Visa said it planned to launch a new 'smart' credit card that would take on Octopus in the small transactions market  and allow retailers to capitalise on loyalty programmes as the card's chip would store all customer information.



Fear of transport congestion stymies Octopus plans to extend rewards scheme