Will NFT, metaverse developments in Hong Kong help deliver the city’s next ‘Octopus moment’ in a post-pandemic world?

When the Octopus card was launched in September 1997, this home-grown electronic payment system arguably became the most notable hi-tech application to come out of Hong Kong. It became a symbol of what could be accomplished in a city with world-class infrastructure, the rule of law, business-friendly policies and an expanding pool of skilled talent.

Broad public acceptance enabled the contactless smart card to extend its use from the city’s public transport network to the retail sector, tolled tunnels, parking facilities, schools, and even for access control in residential and commercial buildings, according to operator Octopus Cards. Its technology has since been adopted in various projects on the mainland, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.

At a time when there are other major electronic wallet options in the market, most Hongkongers – 70 per cent of 6.3 million qualified residents – last year chose the Octopus digital payment platform to store their HK$5,000 consumption vouchers from the government. About 30.4 million Octopus cards were in circulation across the city as of December 31, 2020.

Fulfilling that aspiration has recently been complicated by a series of disruptive events: the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, the US-China trade war, the coronavirus pandemic, restrictions imposed under the city’s “dynamic zero-Covid-19” policy, an economic slowdown and a brain drain amid a recent wave of emigration.

A segment of Hong Kong’s technology industry, however, suggests potential breakthroughs from a new wave of digital-first enterprises, several years after the likes of artificial intelligence software company SenseTime and on-demand logistics services provider GoGoX Holdings, formerly known as GoGoVan, made their mark on the city.