When cash is no longer king

Ticketing issues

However, purchasing tickets for public transport remains a herculean task as each mainland city has its own unique QR code system for public transport, and even mainland Alipay and WeChat Pay QR codes can't be scanned directly when using public transport systems. The systems have yet to be mutually recognized in most places, and third-party mobile payment platforms have to negotiate with the operators at each location separately.

According to Lee, AlipayHK will focus on expanding its use on transportation networks on the mainland and cover more government, livelihood and welfare services in its e-wallet app.

Following the resumption of normal travel between the mainland and Hong Kong on Jan 8, AlipayHK has been linked to the Shenzhen MTR, and its customized QR codes can also be used on buses in Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhongshan in Guangdong. "We hope to focus on opening up the public transport network in the Greater Bay Area before gradually expanding the service to all cities on the mainland," says Lee.

The UnionPay Mobile QuickPass app can also be used to support Hong Kong accounts in paying for rides on buses and the metro in more than 100 mainland cities, according to its official website.

Octopus Holdings - Hong Kong's homegrown cashless payment provider - is also jumping on the bandwagon. It plans to launch a new transit card that can be used for bus and metro rides in about 300 mainland cities in the second quarter of this year. All payments will be automatically settled in Hong Kong dollars.

The Octopus card can be used to pay for a range of products and services in Hong Kong, including public transport, hotel accommodation, hospital fees, and groceries. There are now more than 20 million active Octopus cards in Hong Kong, far exceeding the city's population of 7.66 million.

According to the Wen Wei Po newspaper, Octopus cardholders can make purchases at local or overseas shops that support UnionPay by scanning the UnionPay QR code.

Since the resumption of normal cross-boundary travel, usage of the Octopus app has gone up fivefold. One of its advantages is that customers do not need to link the card with a mainland mobile-phone number or bank account.

Contact the writer at grace@chinadailyhk.com