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Hong Kong telecoms operators finally rolling out mobile payment systems, but experts sceptical

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Apple Pay is already available in the UK and US, while Chinese smartphone users have long been able to use sophisticated mobile payment systems. Photo: Bloomberg

Telecommunications giant HKT hopes to give Hong Kong's tepid mobile payments market a much-needed boost with the launch of a new contactless, Octopus-card-esque system.

"Tap & Go, in every way, will redefine the meaning of money," HKT group managing director Alex Arena said on Monday.

"Money will no longer be coins, paper or even credit cards," Arena said. "Money will be your smartphone."

The Tap & Go app, available online via the Android Play Store, enables HKT mobile subscribers to make payments at more than three million MasterCard PayPass readers in stores around the world using their Android smartphones. Users simply tap their smartphones on the PayPass point-of-sale readers at the stores.

The payment system is embedded in the new "all-in-one" subscriber identity module (SIM) cards provided by HKT for more than 40 different Android smartphone models with near-field communications (NFC) technology. Payment for online purchases are capped at HK$10,000 (US$1,289) per transaction.

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