A Hong Kong innovation is changing the way consumers manage
everyday transactions around the world. The Octopus smartcard
was introduced in Hong Kong in 1997, offering users the ability
to pay for public transportation by simply waving their card
over a reader.
 Almost
a dozen years later, its applications have now expanded to cover
fast food, parking, and many other retail transactions. It is
also used by residential estates and commercial offices as an
access card, as well as by schools and students to register
attendance, as school library cards and to sign up for school
activities. Over 17 million Octopus Cards are in circulation in
Hong Kong, making it the world's most used smart card system,
handling more than 10 million transactions a day for over 2,000
vendors. Octopus also reaches beyond the borders of Hong Kong,
with retail outlets in Shenzhen and Macao now accepting its use.
The Octopus conventional card look has also evolved; it is
available now in the form of watches, key chains and mobile
phones.
Called "the most versatile card ever" by Design Council
Magazine, the official journal of the Design Council in the UK,
the Octopus system has inspired other smart card applications,
including London's Oyster Card system. Launched in 2003, over 10
million Oyster cards were issued by March 2007.
The Octopus Card continues to make international forays. Its
technology and expertise have been exported to the
Netherlands, developing that country's first nationwide
automatic fare collection system. In 2007, it reached Dubai,
establishing the smart card as a common payment platform for
multiple public transport services in this Middle East city.
Speaking in Vancouver last November, Hong Kong's Secretary
for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs. Rita Lau,
pointed to the Octopus Card as a superb example of Hong
Kong's high degree of technological capability. "Smart card
applications will be a theme in the 2010 Shanghai Expo,"
explained Mrs. Lau. "Our pavilion will be called 'Smart
Card, Smart City, Smart Life', and we will use this
technology to showcase our innovative and creative talent to
the international community."
The international success of the Octopus Card has also
convinced the Hong Kong SAR government of the importance of
supporting research in science and technology. The
C$80-million Innovation and Technology Fund established in
1999 has been dedicated to driving innovation and
technological upgrading of Hong Kong's manufacturing and
service industries. |
The Octopus
Card has won numerous awards, including:
Chairman's Award, World Information
Technology and Services Alliance Global IT
Excellence Award, 2006
People Site Certification, Asia
Pacific's Customer Service Consortium, 2005
"Superbrands Hong Kong" and "Brand
Leader Award - Business Equipment and
Services", Superbrands 2003
Asian Innovation Awards,
Far Eastern Economic Review, 1998 |
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