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How design thinking’s user-centric approach helps Hong Kong embrace a cashless future

  • While many Hong Kong residents prefer paying in cash, multinational bank HSBC has been leading the change with PayMe, a popular mobile payment app
  • Experts say the app’s success is rooted in its design thinking approach, which places user-centricity at the heart of product development

In Partnership With:Hong Kong Design Centre
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How design thinking pushes Hong Kong towards a cashless future

How design thinking pushes Hong Kong towards a cashless future

The world is rapidly moving towards a cash-lite society with the continuing global spread of the coronavirus disease, Covid-19, helping to accelerate the demand for digital payment services.

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Many people have been not only adopting social distancing measures during the pandemic, but also trying to avoid contact with people through the use of bank notes and coins by choosing digital payment methods or shopping online.

In mainland China, 55 per cent of mobile users are likely to buy more groceries online because of the coronavirus, a survey conducted by the consulting firm, McKinsey, has found.
By the end of this year, the global digital payments market is expected to reach more than US$5,400 billion – a 40 per cent increase from 2019 – a study by London-based research firm, The Business Research Company, estimated in May.

The growing popularity of e-commerce, mobile payments, and cloud computing systems is at the heart of the cashless transformation. As digital payments become readily available, consumers have been able to buy things without having to carry cash.

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China’s cashless revolution has been fast-growing. A report on the country’s fintech sector, compiled by the research agency, Mordor Intelligence, showed that mainland China accounted for about half of the world’s digital payments in 2017 alone.
China’s digital payment market has expanded rapidly and is currently the largest in the world. Photo: SCMP / Edmond So
China’s digital payment market has expanded rapidly and is currently the largest in the world. Photo: SCMP / Edmond So
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