Development of Octopus contact-less smartcard payment system for public telecommunications

Octopus brings unparalleled benefits that can help uplift efficiency, save costs and add brand value. Success is demonstrated by an impressive penetration rate and extremely high usage.  There are over 24 million Octopus are in circulation.  95% of those between the ages of 16 and 65 have an Octopus. Octopus processes over 13 million transactions a day. Daily transactions are valued at over HK$140 million, just over USD $17 billion a year. More than 13,000 retail outlets from over 5,800 service providers accept Octopus. There are more than 66,000 Octopus readers all over Hong Kong. Over 3.1 million Octopus registered under the Octopus Rewards Programme.

In 1997, Octopus was launched across six public transport systems.  Up to 3,000,000 cards were sold in the first three months.  Earlier, in 1994, Creative Star Limited was formed by five major transport operators in Hong Kong (renamed “Octopus Cards Limited” in 2002).  By 1996, “Octopus” was chosen as the name of the smart card through an open competition.  Throughout the 90’s and 2000’s Octopus was extended to reloading service at retail shops, automatic Add Value Service was through financial institutions.