More Hongkongers are using Octopus cards - but city isn't ready to go cashless just yet
Octopus transactions rise by two million a day, but city is flooded with a billion new coins
Newly minted coins are still pouring into Hong Kong's economy despite a multimillion-dollar increase in cashless transactions being conducted through Octopus cards.
But an economics expert said Hong Kong's economy wasn't ready to go cashless just yet, with coins still an important part of the city's finances.
Between 2009 and last year, almost one billion new coins flooded into the pockets of Hong Kong residents. They were worth HK$1.4 billion, bringing the total value of coins in circulation to HK$6.9 billion. Over the same period, transactions on Octopus cards rose by more than two million. The value of those transactions surged about 33 per cent.
The Monetary Authority said in 2009 there were 5.17 billion coins in circulation in the city, valued at approximately HK$5.5 billion. By 2014, this had increased to 6.07 billion coins, with the largest surge - totalling an extra 200 million each - seen in HK$2 and 10-cent pieces.
A spokeswoman said the number of coins was appropriate for what was currently required.
"The increase in coins in circulation is driven by market demand, and it is consistent with Hong Kong's vibrant economic and retail activities during the period," she said.
City University associate finance professor Michael Wong Chak-sham said while the growth of e-payment would eventually see coins phased out, it wasn't time to reel them in just yet.