‘Hard to believe’: Hong Kong ‘lagging behind’ in e-payments as Octopus card and cash keep grip on shoppers, merchants
- Visitors have long grumbled over paucity of payment options, especially compared with mainland China’s widely adopted digital solutions
- Some platforms have grown in popularity since pandemic, but merchants complain about relatively high transaction fees for e-payment systems, say they prefer cash
She took the MTR instead, paying for her train ride to her hotel in North Point using mainland China’s popular e-payment platform WeChat Pay.
“I had HK$200 on me, but I didn’t expect that taxis would not accept mainland QR wallets that I heard were getting more popular in Hong Kong,” said the 34-year-old online store owner who sells handmade jewellery.
She spent HK$7,000 (US$895) over five days on meals, clothes and cosmetics. Although she had no difficulty with e-payments at most shopping centres and big restaurant chains, she could not shake off the anxiety that she did not carry enough cash with her.
“Hong Kong is an international financial hub, it’s hard to believe that some eateries, stores and taxis only accept cash,” she said.
Mainlanders, the largest group of visitors before the Covid-19 pandemic, have long complained about Hong Kong’s undying love of cash and the ubiquitous Octopus stored value card.