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Hong Kong’s Octopus set to launch e-wallet app for Apple devices

Users will need to buy a Bluetooth card reader to pair their Octopus card to their iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad when the system, a rival to newly introduced Apple Pay, goes live in the city on Wednesday

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Octopus chief executive Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The e-wallet battle is heating up, after Hong Kong’s dominant ­Octopus cards announced on Tuesday an app for Apple devices to be launched on Wednesday, a week after ­Apple Pay went live in the city.

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To use the system, Hongkongers will need to download an ­Octopus app, buy an Octopus card reader for HK$228 and pair the card reader via Bluetooth with an iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad.

Apple tightly guards its security and proprietary technology used for its digital wallet and mobile payment service, Apple Pay.

That service uses Apple’s TouchID fingerprint recognition technology to make payments, which Octopus does not support.

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That is why Octopus needs to include the personal card reader to support its own mobile ­payment set-up.

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