Hong Kong's Octopus Card Now Supports Apple Pay

Apple Pay OctopusHong Kong's popular Octopus card for transit and retail purchases now supports Apple Pay, allowing the card to be added to the Wallet app for contactless payments with an iPhone or Apple Watch.

As noted by the blog Ata Distance, Apple Pay support for the Octopus card was introduced today and is still rolling out to all users in Hong Kong. Express Transit mode is supported, allowing for tap-and-go payment without needing to authenticate the iPhone or Apple Watch with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode.

To add a card to the Wallet app, tap on the plus sign in the top-right corner and follow the instructions.

2019 was a big year for Apple Pay with Express Transit mode, with major cities like London and New York City rolling out support. The feature is available in several other cities, too, including Chicago, Portland, Sydney, and Beijing.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

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Top Rated Comments

Klae17 Avatar
61 months ago

Weird name for a card. But it’s nice to see more cards accepted. I wish more store cards were supported though.
From Wikipedia:

The Cantonese ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonese') name for the Octopus card, Baat Daaht Tùng (Chinese ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_characters'): 八 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%85%AB')達 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%81%94')通 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%80%9A')), translates literally as "eight-arrived pass", where Baat Daaht may translate as "reaching everywhere". Less literally though the meaning is taken as the "go-everywhere pass". It was selected by the head of the MTR Corporation, the parent company of Octopus Cards Limited, in a naming competition held in 1996.[15] ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_card#cite_note-Milestones-15') The number eight refers to the cardinal and ordinal directions ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_direction'), and the four-character idiom ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengyu') sei tùng baat daaht (Chinese ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_characters'): 四 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B')通 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%80%9A')八 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%85%AB')達 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%81%94')), a common expression loosely translated as "reachable in all directions".[16] ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_card#cite_note-16') It is also considered a lucky number in Chinese culture ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_in_Chinese_culture#Eight'), and the phrase baat daaht can possibly be associated with the similar-sounding faat daaht, which means "getting wealthy" (Chinese ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_characters'): 發 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%99%BC')達 ('https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%81%94')) in Cantonese.

The English ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language') name Octopus card was also selected from the naming competition. Coincidentally, the English name coincides with the number eight in the Chinese name, since an octopus ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus') has eight tentacles ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tentacle').[17] ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_card#cite_note-MilestonesEng-17') The logo used on the card features a Möbius strip ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip') in the shape of an infinity symbol ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_symbol').
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adrianlondon Avatar
61 months ago
Octopus is a brilliant name for anything.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
henry72 Avatar
61 months ago
I can confirm it worked. If you’re not currently in HK, just change your iPhone region in Settings to HK, add the card and then change it back :)

PS: Pretty cool that the iPhone can read the Octopus card




https://www.apple.com/hk/en/apple-pay/octopus/

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Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Powermax Avatar
61 months ago
Great it worked! I changed my region to Hong Kong and then was able to add transfer my existing Octopus card to my phone. Now I am ready for my next visit to Hong Kong.
Sadly it looks like you can only add money via Apple Pay with cards from HK for now, I hope they will change that soon like with Suica where you can use every card in your wallet to top up.

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Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqerror Avatar
61 months ago

Changed region to HK, added card, "Your card does not support Apple Pay", changed region back to UK.

Oh well. Hopefully next time I go to HK I'll get a newer one. I've had this one for a few years now.
Yeah, there was a card replacement effort 2017-2019. The first gen ones aren't smartphone compatible.

https://www.octopus.com.hk/en/consumer/card-replacement/about/index.html
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Powermax Avatar
61 months ago
My card is from 2014 and I could add it without problems.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)