Hong Kong’s Octopus card stays on top: departing chairman pleased that elderly people, small merchants use it too
- Keeping it simple has worked to win over users and vendors, says David Eldon, chairman since 2016
- Company needs to persuade taxi drivers to accept e-payments, as most still prefer receiving cash
Top banker David Eldon steps down on Saturday after seven years as chairman of Octopus Holdings, proud that the home-grown electronic payment system is now used by Hong Kong’s poor, the elderly and small merchants.
“I grew up in humble circumstances and I’ve never forgotten where I came from,” he told the Post. “So the fact that we’re able to help people from the same sort of background that I came from does give me a lot of satisfaction.”
He recalled that when he became chairman of Octopus in 2016, he noticed that older Hongkongers did not cope well with stored-value cash-cards and digital payments.
He asked the company’s management to keep the smart card simple, so the group would accept the new technology.
“I wanted to make sure the older generation were being properly looked after and not ignored, because they are our legacy,” he said. “I think they are being well looked after, and I would be very distressed if that didn’t happen.”
Eldon, 77, was born in Inverness, Scotland, the son of a domestic helper. He started out as a filing clerk in 1964, before going on to establish a career in banking.