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Hong Kong’s use of digital wallets for online payments to overtake credit cards by 2025, report says

  • Hongkongers are shifting to digital wallets because this online payment method has become more convenient to use amid the Covid-19 pandemic
  • Alipay, WeChat Pay, Tap & Go and Octopus collectively attracted more than 4.7 million new users and 96,000 new merchants in Hong Kong by the end of 2021

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Prime examples of widely used digital wallets in Hong Kong are Alipay, WeChat Pay, Tap & Go and Octopus. Photo: Warton Li

Digital wallets are expected to surpass credit cards as the most popular electronic payment method in Hong Kong by 2025, according to a new study, helping accelerate the city’s efforts to expand online retail transactions.

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In e-commerce, digital wallets will account for 40 per cent of the city’s online transaction value by 2025, overtaking credit cards, according to the 2022 Global Payments Report recently published by US financial technology company FIS.
Hongkongers are shifting to digital wallets because this online payment method has become more convenient to use amid the Covid-19 pandemic, said Daniel So, Hong Kong merchant payments manager at Worldpay from FIS. The payment technology firm is a subsidiary of New York-listed FIS.
A digital wallet is an electronic financial account that enables users to store funds, make payments and track their transactions online via an app installed on their smart devices. The prime examples in Hong Kong are Alipay, WeChat Pay, Tap & Go and Octopus, which are the four digital payment platforms designated by the city’s government for its consumption voucher scheme.
The Hong Kong government’s consumption voucher scheme was intended to push residents towards embracing electronic payments. Photo: Nora Tam
The Hong Kong government’s consumption voucher scheme was intended to push residents towards embracing electronic payments. Photo: Nora Tam

Alipay, WeChat Pay, Tap & Go and Octopus collectively attracted more than 4.7 million new users and 96,000 new merchants in Hong Kong by the end of 2021, according to So of Worldpay from FIS.

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He said local promotions by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, parent of the South China Morning Post, and Hong Kong Technology Venture Co subsidiary HKTV Mall have also helped broaden the adoption of digital wallets in the city.
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