Octopus card

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The Octopus card is a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong. Originally launched in September 1997 to collect fares for the city's mass transit system, the Octopus card system has since grown into a widely-used payment system for virtually all public transport in Hong Kong.^[1] It is also used for payment at convenience stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, on-street parking meters, car parks, and many other point-of-sale applications such as service stations and vending machines.^[2] The Octopus card has been recognised as one of the most advanced smart card systems in the world, winning the 1998 Sesames Award for best smart card application.^[1] According to Octopus Cards Limited, operator of the Octopus card system, there are currently over 14 million cards in circulation, used by 95% of the population of Hong Kong, generating over 10 million daily transactions worth a total of about HK$29 billion (US$3.7 billion) a year.^[3]

Contents 1 Name and logo 2 Types of Octopus cards 3 Octopus card usage 3.1 Payment using Octopus Cards 3.2 Adding value and refunding 4 Back-end technology and operations 4.1 Clearing and settlement 4.2 Privacy and encryption 5 Alternate forms 6 Operator 7 History 8 Adoption of the Octopus card 9 Comparison with other electronic cash systems 10 Comparison with other transit card systems 11 Future developments 12 See also 13 References 14 Further information 15 External links

[edit] Name and logo

The Cantonese name for the Octopus card, Baat Daaht Tùng (Traditional Chinese: 八達通), literally means "eight-place 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.^[4] The number eight is a significant number in Chinese in that it is often used to indicate "many". For instance, the phrase sei tùng baat daaht (Traditional Chinese: 四通八達) is a common expression loosely translated as "reachable in all directions". It is also considered a lucky number in Chinese culture.

The English name "Octopus card" was also selected from the naming competition,^[5] and coincides with the number eight in the Cantonese name, since an octopus has eight tentacles. It is also particularly appropriate since an octopus is thought to be able to grab many things at the same time and this ability is conferred upon its cardholders who can use it in many different types of transactions.

The logo used on the card features a Möbius strip twisted sideways and into the shape of the arabic numeral for the number eight, "8", in order to indicate the card's "infinite" possibilities. The mathematical symbol for infinity, "∞", looks like a sideways "8" and is commonly thought to be derived from the Möbius strip.

[edit] Types of Octopus cards

Two main types of Octopus cards exist, On-Loan cards and Sold cards, together with two other less common types, the Airport Express Tourist Octopus and the MTR Airport Staff Octopus.

On-Loan cards are issued for usage in day-to-day functions, primarily for fare payment in transport systems. No identification is required for the purchase of On-Loan cards. If an owner loses a card, only the stored value of the card is lost. This type of Octopus card is anonymous; no personal information, bank account or credit card details are stored on the card.^[6] On-Loan cards are further classified into Child, Adult, Elder, and Personalised categories, with the first three based on age and different amounts of fare concession.^[7] There was also another category of On-Loan cards, a violet-coloured Octopus card for students, that is now discontinued^{[citation needed]}. This card has since been replaced with the Personalised card with "student status". On-Loan Octopus cards may be purchased at all Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations, all Kowloon Canton Railway (KCR) stations, the Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) Customer Service Centre, New World First Ferry (NWFF) Octopus Service Centres, and the New World First Bus (NWFB) Customer Service Centre.^[8]

Types of On-Loan Octopus cards

Type	Picture/Colour	Cost and use
Child		Children aged between 3 and 11. This card is sold for HK$70 with an initial value of HK$20. Children's fares are deducted where applicable.
Adult		The standard version of the Octopus card. This card is sold for HK$150 with an initial value of HK$100. This colour is also used for the logo of Octopus Cards Limited, the operator.
Elder	Green	Eligibility varies between different public transport companies, and even between operating routes within the same company — for example, 60 years of age or above for Citybus, 65 for KMB. If no elder fares are available, adult fares are deducted. This card is sold for HK$70 with an initial value of HK$20.

The rainbow-coloured Personalised card is available upon registration. If opted, the name and photo of the holder may be imprinted on the cards. They can function automatically as a Child, Adult, or Elder card by recognising the cardholder's age stored on the card, hence accounting for different concessionary fares. As of 2003, there were 380,000 holders of Personalised Octopus cards^{[citation needed]}. In addition to all the functions of an ordinary card, this card can be used as a key card for access to residential and office buildings.^[9] If a Personalised card is lost, the holder may report the loss by phone to prevent unauthorised use of the card. A refund would then be issued to the holder of the card for the value that remained on the card six hours after the loss is reported, minus a HK$20 handling fee.^[10]

To be eligible for a Personalised card with student status, the applicant must be a full-time Hong Kong student aged between 12 and 25.^[11] This type of Personalised card is automatically issued to a student who applies for student concessionary privileges. Additionally, they can be used for various school administrative tasks such as the recording of student attendance and the management of library loans.^[12]

In contrast to On-Loan cards, Sold cards are sponsored and branded cards.^[13] They are souvenir cards that are frequently released by Octopus Cards Limited. The designs for these cards usually come from fictional characters in popular culture, or they are inspired by Chinese cultural events such as Chinese New Year. These cards are sold at a premium, have limited or no initial stored value, and cannot be refunded, but they can otherwise be used as ordinary cards. An example of the Sold card is the Mcmug and Mcdull collection. It was launched at the end of January of 2007 to coincide with the beginning of the Year of the Pig, it features two differently designed versions of the card and is sold for HK$138 per set. Each set comes with an Adult Octopus card, with a pouch for the card, a matching strap and a Mcmug or Mcdull ornament.^[14] Octopus Cards Limited has launched new collections of these cards for such occasions as the Mid-Autumn Festival, the passing of the year 2004, and the release of the movie DragonBlade. These limited-edition cards are becoming collectibles, with the rarest, probably an Andy Lau tour card, being worth many thousands of Hong Kong dollars^{[citation needed]}. Sold Octopus cards may be purchased at selected MTR and KCR stations, and all 7-Eleven stores.^[8]

The special-purpose card, Airport Express Tourist Octopus, was introduced by Octopus Cards Limited to target tourists in Hong Kong. There are two versions of this card, a HK$220 card with a free single ride on the Airport Express, the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) train line that runs between the Hong Kong International Airport and the urban areas of Hong Kong, and a HK$300 card with two free single rides included. The airport journeys are valid for 180 days from the date of purchase. Both versions allow three days of unlimited rides on the MTR, and include HK$20 in usable value for non-MTR rides or other uses, and a HK$50 refundable deposit. More value on these cards may be added if necessary. These tourist Octopus cards may be used only by tourists staying in Hong Kong for 14 or fewer days; users may be required to produce a passport showing their arrival date in Hong Kong. Airport Express Tourist Octopus is available for purchase at all MTR stations.^[15]

The other special-purpose card, the MTR Airport Staff Octopus, is available for the staff of Hong Kong International Airport and AsiaWorld-Expo, a convention centre close to the airport, for commuting at a reduced fare between the airport and MTR stations via the Airport Express. Staff who apply for the card may use it for a discount of up to 64% for Airport Express single journey fares.^[16] The MTR Airport Staff Octopus is available upon application via the company for which that a staff member works.^[17]

[edit] Octopus card usage

Initially, the Octopus card was introduced for fare payment on the MTR, but the use of the card quickly expanded for multiple purposes. The card can now be used to pay fares for all public transport in Hong Kong and to make purchases for consumer products at many stores in the city; it is accepted by more than 160 merchants. Some notable businesses that accept Octopus cards include PARKnSHOP, Watsons, 7-Eleven, Starbucks, McDonald's, and Circle K. The card can be used in many soft drink vending machines, pay phones, photo booths, parking meters, and car parks.^[18] Aside from consumer transactions, Octopus cards can also be used for access control in buildings^[9] and for school administrative functions.^[12]

[edit] Payment using Octopus Cards

Making or recording a payment using the card for public transportation or while purchasing items at Octopus-enabled retailers can be done by holding the card against or waving it over an Octopus card reader from up to a few centimetres away, even if the card is held in a wallet or a purse. The reader will acknowledge payment by emitting a beep sound, and display the amount deducted and the remaining balance of the card.^[19] Standard transaction time for readers used for public transport is 0.3 seconds, while that of readers used for retailers is 1 second.^[20] When riding the MTR and KCR systems, the entry point of commuters is noted when a passenger enters, and the appropriate amount based on distance traveled will be deducted when the users show their card again at the exit point. A higher pitched sound will be emitted if the card is not accepted, in the event that the stored value is insufficient to handle the requested transaction, or if the reader is unable to read the card owing to interference or because insufficient time is given for the reader to scan the card.^{[citation needed]}

The MTR and KCR charge less for journeys made using an Octopus card instead of conventional single-journey tickets.^[21] For example, the adult fare of a single journey from Chai Wan to Tung Chung is HK$23.10 with an Octopus card, and HK$26 with a single journey ticket.^[22] The KCR also uses the Octopus card to store the status of its One-Month Pass scheme. Passengers who register and purchase the One-Month Pass can use their Octopus cards as access control for unlimited rides on the specified line for a month, and they can travel on KCR trains even if their Octopus cards have insufficient or negative stored value.^[23] Other public transport operators also offer discounts, usually 10%, for using Octopus cards on higher fares and round-trip transits.^{[citation needed]}

On 2005-11-06, Octopus Cards Limited launched Octopus Rewards, a program that allows cardholders to earn rewards at merchants that are partners in the program. Participating merchants provide consumers with tailor-made offers and privileges.^[24] The "rewards" that the program offers are in the form of points, or "reward dollars", stored on the card. Once a card is registered for the program, the cardholder may accumulate reward points by making purchases at participating merchants, and payments may be made in the form of cash, credit cards, or Octopus cards themselves.^[25] The rate at which reward points are earned per dollar-amount purchase differs by the merchant at which that the purchases are made. At Wellcome, for example, one point is earned for every purchase of HK$200;^[26] and at Watsons, points are earned at a rate of 0.5% per dollar amount of a purchase.^[27] Once these "reward dollars" are accumulated, they may be redeemed as payment for purchases at partner merchants for at least HK$1 per "reward dollar". However, the cardholder may not elect to only use a partial amount of "reward dollars" as payment. The amount must be used in whole, and if the purchase price is lower than the amount of "reward dollars" available, the amount difference remains stored on the card.^[28] Founding partners for the Octopus Rewards program include HSBC, UA Cinemas, Watsons, Wellcome, and McDonald's.^[29]

[edit] Adding value and refunding

Monetary value can be added to the card through a number of ways. Add Value Machines, located at MTR and KCR stations, can be used to add more value to the cards. The machines accept cash, and selected machines are also able to accept Electronic Funds Transfer.^[30] Alternatively, value may be added with cash at authorised service providers such as PARKnSHOP, Wellcome, Watsons, 7-Eleven, Circle K, and Café de Coral, and also at customer service centres and ticketing offices at other transport stations.^[31]

An Octopus card may store a maximum value of HK$1,000,^[32] with an On-Loan card having an initial deposit value of HK$50 and a Sold card having no initial deposit value. Negative value is incurred on a card if it is used with insufficient funds—both types of cards may carry a maximum negative value of HK$35 before value needs to be added to them again for use.^[33] The maximum cost of a trip on any of the rail networks except the Airport Express and first class of the KCR East Rail is HK$34.8.^{[citation needed]}

The Octopus Automatic Add Value Service (AAVS) is another method by which cardholders may add value to their cards. This service allows for money to be automatically deducted from a credit card and added to an Octopus card when the value of the Octopus card is less than zero dollars. The credit card used must be one offered by one of 22 financial institutions that participate in AAVS.^[34] Participating banks include HSBC, Bank of China, and Hang Seng Bank. HK$250 is added to the card each time value is automatically added, with six participating financial institutions offering an option of adding a value of HK$500 instead.^[35]

An Octopus card may be returned to any MTR or KCR Customer Service Centre for a refund of the remaining value stored on it. A handling fee may be charged for the refund; HK$7 for an anonymous On-Loan card that had been in use for fewer than three months, and HK$10 for a Personalised On-Loan card that was issued on or after 2004-11-01. A refund is immediately provided at the time an anonymous On Loan card is returned, unless it has more than HK$500 stored on it. A Personalised On-Loan card or an anonymous On-Loan card with more than HK$500 stored on it needs to be sent back to Octopus Cards Limited for refund processing, in which case, the refund for a Personalised On-Loan card would be available in eight days, and that of an anonymous On-Loan card would be available in five days. If a damaged card is returned for refund, a HK$30 levy would be charged to the cardholder.^[36]

[edit] Back-end technology and operations

The Octopus system was designed by MTR's own experts and through an open tender, AES ProData (Hong Kong) Limited, now known as ERG Transit Systems. ERG, an Australian company based in Perth, Western Australia, was selected as the lead supplier.^[37][38]

ERG was contracted to build a number of the components, including the back-end systems. Operations, maintenance and development is undertaken by Octopus, and in 2005, Octopus replaced the central transaction clearing house with its own system.

The Octopus card uses the Sony 13.56 MHz FeliCa radio frequency identification (RFID) chip (and other related technology); and Hong Kong is the home of the world's first major public transport system using this technology. This is a "touch and go" system, so users need only hold the card in close proximity of the reader, and thus physical contact is not required. Data is transmitted at up to 212 kbit/s (the maximum speed for Sony FeliCa chips), compared with 9.6 kbit/s for Mondex and Visa Cash.

Octopus uses a nonstandard system for RFID instead of the ISO 14443 standards, since there were no standards in the nascent industry during its development in 1997. The operating range of the reader/writer is between 30 and 100 mm depending on the type of model being used.

[edit] Clearing and settlement

Octopus is specifically designed so that card transactions are relayed for clearing on a store and forward basis, without any requirement for reader units to have realtime round-trip communications with a central database or computer. (As of 2005, the database systems are provided by Oracle Corporation). The stored data about the transaction may be transmitted by network after hours, or in the case of offline mobile readers may be retrieved by a hand held device, for example a Pocket PC.

In practice, different data collection mechanisms are used by different transport operators, depending on the nature of their business. The MTR equips its stations with local area networks that connect the various components that deal with Octopus cards - turnstiles, add-value machines, check value machines and customer service terminals. Transactions from these stations are relayed to the MTR's Kowloon Bay headquarters through a frame relay wide area network (as of 2005, provided by PCCW), and hence onwards to the central clearing house system (CCHS) for clearing. Similar arrangements are in place for KCR stations and for retailers such as 7-Eleven. Handheld devices are used to scan offline mobile readers, including those installed on minibuses. Buses either use handheld devices or a wireless system, depending on operator.

[edit] Privacy and encryption

The Octopus card uses encryption for all airborne communication and it uses two-way authentication based on public key infrastructure (PKI). In other words, data communications to and from the card are only established when mutually authenticated security handshaking is verified followed by transfer of encrypted data.

[edit] Alternate forms

Other than the Octopus card itself, operator Octopus Cards Limited also sells watches and mobile phone covers that function as an anonymous Octopus card. The types of watches available include wrist watches, pocket watches, and watch key chains, while the mobile phone covers were specifically designed for Nokia models 3310 and 3330.^[39] As with the card itself, these products are used by waving them over a card reader. They may be reloaded with money value the same way as the card itself, including automatic reloading via the Automatic Add Value Service, with the exception that they cannot be reloaded at Add Value Machines due to their shapes.^[40] An Octopus watch or mobile phone cover may be stored with a maximum of HK$1,000, but do not have any initial stored value at the time of its purchase. It may have a maximum negative value of HK$35 as with an Octopus card.^[39] These products are not refundable for their costs, but the remaining value stored on them may be refunded if they are damaged, with the damaged product itself also returned to the customer.^[40]

[edit] Operator

Main article: Octopus Cards Limited

As of 2005, Octopus Cards Limited (OCL), the operator of Octopus, is a joint-venture between six transit companies, namely MTR Corporation (57.4%), KCR (22.1%), Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) (12.4%), Citybus (5%), New World First Bus (NWFB) (3.05%) and First Ferry (0.05%). Since the Government of Hong Kong owns nearly three-quarters of MTR and 100% of KCR, it is the biggest effective shareholder in the company, although the business is operated on a commercial basis.

OCL has been aggressively expanding the use of Octopus in Hong Kong, and has won a number of contracts extending Octopus-style systems overseas, including the Netherlands and Changsha in Mainland China.

OCL also settles accounts between the Octopus system and the operators/merchants. Initially, OCL was restricted to having 15% of Octopus card transactions being non-transport, as it operated as an "exempt card" under Hong Kong's Banking Ordinance, but OCL was later granted a deposit-taking licence by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which allowed 50% of its transactions to be unrelated to transport. According to HKMA, HK$416 million (USD 53.3 million) is deposited in the Octopus system at any given time (as of 2000).

[edit] History

The MTR network adopted a system of recirculated magnetic plastic cards when it started operations in 1979. These cards were either used as single journey tickets or as stored value tickets. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) adopted the same magnetic cards in 1984, and the stored value version was renamed Common Stored Value Tickets.

In 1989, the Common Stored Value Tickets system was extended to KMB buses providing a feeder service to MTR/KCR stations and to Citybus, and was also extended to a limited number of non-transport applications, such as payments at photobooths and for fast food vouchers.

Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR) eventually decided to adopt more advanced technologies, and in 1993 announced that it would move towards using contactless smartcards. To gain wider acceptance, MTR and KCRC invited three other major franchised transport operators in Hong Kong, namely KMB, Citybus and the Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry (HYF) to form a joint venture company in 1994, known as Creative Star Limited (renamed Octopus Cards Limited in January 2002). (The only major public transport operator at the time not to join was China Motor Bus, which pulled out of public transport altogether in 1998, in favour of its property development business, and had most of its bus routes transferred to NWFB).

The Octopus system was launched after three years of trials on 1 September 1997. Initially for use on services offered by the five joint venture partners, it was quickly extended to other transport services. In 2000, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted a deposit-taking company license to the operator, removing previous restrictions that prohibited Octopus from generating more than 15% of its turnover from non-transit related functions.

In January 2001, a new shareholders' agreement was signed and the shares of HYF in the operator was transferred to NWFB and New World First Ferry. In conjunction with the privatisation of its parent company, MTR Corporation, Octopus Cards Limited was also transformed from its previous non-profit making status to a profit making enterprise.

On 29 June 2003, the Octopus card found another application when the Hong Kong Government started to replace all its 18,000 parking meters with a new Octopus card operated system. The replacement was completed on 21 November 2004. A number of government facilities including public swimming pools and sports facilities also adopted the Octopus system at around the same time.

In November 2003, Octopus Cards Limited secured a HK$200 million (USD 25.64 million) contract to help provide contactless smartcard technology in The Netherlands' system, combining the fare collection system of all its public transport companies - starting with rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, bus and tramway operator Connexxion, public transport companies of Rotterdam (RET) and Amsterdam (GVB) and the tram system in The Hague (HTM).

[edit] Adoption of the Octopus card

The Octopus system was launched in 1997, and 3 million cards were issued within the first three months. The main reason for the quick success of the system was that the MTR and KCR required that all holders of common stored value tickets replace their tickets with Octopus cards in three months or have their tickets made obsolete, thus forcing their combined base of 3.3 million commuters (2.2 million for the MTR,^[41] 1.1 million for the KCR^[42]) to switch quickly. Another reason is the coin shortage in Hong Kong after 1997; there is a belief that old coins in Hong Kong will appreciate in value, so many people stockpiled coins and waited for their value to increase.^{[citation needed]} By November 1998, 4.6 million cards were issued, and this rose to 9 million by January 2002.

The Octopus system was quickly adopted by other Creative Star joint venture partners, and KMB reported that by 2000, most bus journeys were completed using an Octopus card, with very few coins used. (Boarding a bus in Hong Kong requires giving exact change; this can be cumbersome. For example, the March 2005 standard fare of a cross-harbour journey was HK$8.90, which required a minimum of six coins.)

One of the key factors resulting in the success of Octopus cards is ubiquity: the card received the full backing of all transport operators in a particular area, facilitating widespread acceptance. This model has been adopted by the Suica system for JR East and the ICOCA system for JR West.

[edit] Comparison with other electronic cash systems

Mondex specifically cited the widespread popularity of Octopus as the reason for withdrawing from the Hong Kong market in 2002. This is despite the fact that they launched their cards one year before the Octopus (in 1996), and had the backing of two of Hong Kong's biggest banks, HSBC and its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank. Academic studies suggest that the biggest cause was the lack of a compelling reason on the commuters' part to adopt the Mondex system which, unlike Octopus, did not have the solid backing of public transport companies and hence commuters and other travellers using their service.

Another reason might be that Mondex users had to have an account with the issuing bank, lessening its appeal for people using other banks.

An additional drawback was that Mondex cards required 5 seconds to process, compared with 0.3 second for a "touch and go" Octopus card. 84% of respondents in a University of Auckland survey attributed the success of Octopus to quick service.

Octopus cards are also anonymous, except for certain specific purposes.^[43] Lack of anonymity is one of the reasons cited for the failure of many cash cards, such as VisaCash, which has the backing of two of Hong Kong's biggest banks, Bank of China and Standard Chartered Bank.

[edit] Comparison with other transit card systems

Mass transit agencies have been using stored value, pre-paid cards for electronic ticketing since the 1970s. This market started to move from magnetic stripe technology to smart cards since the early 1990s; Hong Kong was actually the first major system to change over.

The Sony FeliCa technology used by Octopus is also used by Singapore's EZ-link card for its MRT and bus systems, Japan's Suica on the JR East, as well as the Nagasaki Smart Card system in Nagasaki, Japan. All these however use more up-to-date versions of the technology, compared with the older Octopus system. EasyCard from Taipei's TRTS is explicitly modelled after Octopus cards, and Octopus Cards Limited worked on the development of Shenzhen Metro's Shenzhen TransCard. A number of other transport related smart card systems have used Octopus cards as a model in their development, including the Oyster Card for transport in London and Touch 'n Go for Kuala Lumpur Rail Transit System.

Seoul also uses the T-Money system, which is used in the same way as the Octopus card. The T-Money system can be used on all Seoul Metropolitan Subway lines, and can also be used to transfer into the bus system in Seoul. Other such cards exist, which enables its owner to use it widely across Korea, including most of the bus systems in the Gyeonggi-do province.

[edit] Future developments

• On 27 June 2006, after 10 years of negotiations between Octopus card company and the taxi industry, the first trial of taxis equipped with Octopus card readers was launched in the New Territories with the Yellow Taxi Group and widely welcomed by the public and the local press.

On 30 October 2006, the South China Morning Post reported that eight of the 20 taxis participating in the trial had dropped out. Part of the reason was technical — drivers must return to the office every day for accounting. The Octopus card company said it would be upgrading the system to allow automatic account updating in the future.

Wong Yu-ting, managing director of the Yellow Taxi Group, also noted that "We have been trying to convince restaurants and retailers to offer discounts to Octopus taxi passengers, but the Transport Department has been a major obstacle." The Transport Department is against this approach for legal reasons. By law, taxi drivers may not solicit customers by offering fare discounts and the department sees little difference between retail and cash discounts.

Not mentioned in the article was the fact that there is no Octopus mechanism to add tips to fares, possibly reducing a taxi driver's income as tips would have to be given separately, in change or bills.

• MTR has signed an agreement with the developer of the Shenzhen Metro's automatic fare collection system towards making Octopus cards compatible with the fare collection system in Shenzhen Metro, which would require that the systems automatically convert fares denominated in Renminbi into Hong Kong dollars.

Octopus is now accepted at some retail outlets in Shenzhen and Macau with 1RMB=1HKD=1MOP.

[edit] See also

• Electronic money
• EZ-Link
• Mondex
• Mon€o
• Oyster Card
• Touch 'n Go
• Transportation in Hong Kong
• Visa Cash

[edit] References

[edit] Further information

• List of Octopus operated parking meters in Hong Kong. From the homepage of the Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 1 February 2004.

As of 21 November 2004, all metered parking spaces in Hong Kong use Octopus, and the Transport Department's 13 multi-storey car parks no longer accept e-Park cards. Also, many of Hong Kong's parking lots no longer accept cash payments at the shroff's office; you must pay by Octopus card or credit card as you exit.

[edit] External links

• octopuscard.com
• Sony FeliCa homepage
• ERG Group homepage
• KonicaMinolta photocopy machines with Octopus cards
• East-West Consortium (the Netherlands)

Octopus Automatic Add Value Service

• HSBC

v • d • e Electronic fare collection systems
Americas	GTA Farecard (Toronto, Canada) • Multivia (Santiago, Chile) • Red Bus (Mendoza, Argentina) United States: Breeze Card (Atlanta) • CharlieCard (Boston) • Chicago Card (Chicago) • Go-To card (Minneapolis-St. Paul) • MetroCard (New York City) • SmartLink (PANYNJ, PATH) • SmarTrip (Washington, D.C.) • Translink (San Francisco Bay Area) • TransPass & TrailPass (SEPTA)
Europe	Andante (Porto) • Elektra (Budapest) • Luas Smartcard (Dublin) • Navigo (Paris) • OV-Chipkaart (Netherlands) United Kingdom: EasyRider (Nottingham) • Oyster (London)
Asia	EasyCard (Taipei) • EZ-Link (Singapore) • G-Pass (Manila) • Touch 'n Go (Malaysia) China: Octopus (Hong Kong) • SPTC (Shanghai) • Shenzhen TransCard (Shenzhen) • Yang Cheng Tong (Guangzhou radius) • Yikatong (Beijing) Japan: Hareca (Okayama) • ICa (Kanazawa) • IC e-card (Matsuyama) • ICOCA (Osaka, JR) • IruCa (Takamatsu) • LuLuCa (Shizuoka) • Nagasaki Smart Card (Nagasaki) • NicePass (Hamamatsu) • PASMO (Tokyo) • passca (Toyama) • PiTaPa (Osaka) • RapiCa (Kagoshima) • Suica (Tokyo, JR) • TOICA (Nagoya) South Korea: Hanaro Card (Busan) • K-CASH (Chuncheon, Gimhae) • KTX Family Card • Mybi • T-Money (Seoul,Yeongnam) • Upass (Seoul,Wonju)
Australia	myki (Melbourne) • SmartRider (Perth) • Tcard (Sydney) • TransLink (Brisbane)