Name
Abstract | ||
|---|---|---|
E-commerce would go bust without electronic cash payment systems, yet few of the dozens of systems introduced in various world markets over the last decade has been reliable enough to be embraced by large numbers. One exception is Hong Kong’s Octopus system. By mid-2001, nearly 70 percent of Hong Kong’s seven million residents used an Octopus card to make over six million daily transactions worth billions of dollars. Why is the Octopus card so successful when even e-cash systems backed by major credit card operators, including Mondex and Visa Cash, have struggled? This article explores what the Octopus experience can teach us about e-payment. Octopus, a smart card used in Hong Kong’s passenger transportation system, was born in June 1994 when the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC), the operator of the underground railway system in Hong Kong, persuaded four local public transportation operators of buses, ferries and mini-vans to form a joint venture company, Creative Star Limited (CS), to develop an automated fare collection system based on contactless smart cards. The fare collection contract, valued at U.S. $55 million, was awarded to ERG Australia Limited and its subsidiary AES Prodata, which subsequently awarded the contactless card portion of the contract to Sony and Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan. The contactless, rechargeable smart cards known as Octopus cards were introduced to the general public in September of 1997, as illustrated in Figure 1, which depicts the timeline of the development of Octopus. Card users can now use their cards in almost all modes of public transportation in Hong Kong and can recharge their cards up to H.K. $1,000 (about U.S. $130) in railway stations as well as in more than four hundred 7-Eleven convenience stores within the territory. Unlike slot-based cards that require the user to insert the card into a physical slot, the Octopus card is a proximity card; it can be read by operators without physical contact. All operators’ computer networks are linked to the CS Clearing House, which is responsible for revenue apportionment and fund transfer. |
Year | DOI | Venue |
|---|---|---|
2003 | 10.1145/903893.903927 | Commun. ACM |
Keywords | Field | DocType |
e-cash payment system success,e commerce,smart card,public transport,computer network | Contactless smart card,Telecommunications,Programming language,ATM card,Computer security,Computer science,Card security code,Charge card,Smart card,Credit card,Proximity card,Payment | Journal |
Volume | Issue | ISSN |
46 | 9 | 0001-0782 |
Citations | PageRank | References |
20 | 1.63 | 1 |
Authors | ||
2 | ||
Name | Order | Citations | PageRank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Y. K. Chau | 1 | 3332 | 184.30 |
| Simpson Poon | 2 | 245 | 24.86 |