HKTaxi partnership allows passengers to pay with Octopus and O! ePay

Hong Kong’s taxi-hailing app HKTaxi has partnered with Octopus to allow payments with Octopus cards or via the Octopus Card mobile payment app, O! ePay.To use the service, passengers will have to download the Octopus app and register their Octopus card number or O! ePay account. After finishing a taxi ride, the fare will be displayed on the HKTaxi app. Passengers can then choose to use their Octopus cards for payment, or settle it by using O! ePay, which will deduct the amount from their O! ePay account directly.“We are delighted to partner with Octopus to empower passengers to use one of Hong Kong’s most popular payment systems – Octopus; and to create a hassle-free taxi riding experience. HKTaxi has been creating value for our customers and providing a way more convenient taxi booking service,” said Kay Lui, co-founder of HKTaxi.Launched in 2013, HKTaxi has more than 60,000 registered drivers and more than 1.4 million users, according to South China Morning Post.  The taxi-hailing company also rolled out an e-payment service in 2018, that had nearly 20,000 drivers adopting electronic payments.Despite strict regulations, the city’s rideshare and ride-hailing markets have grown more competitive. By using Hong Kong’s most common form of public transport payment, this enhancement in service quality is a savvy bid to attract more customers.“The partnership with HKTaxi ride-hailing platform aims to encourage more taxi drivers to accept Octopus as a means of payment. Passengers who pay their taxi fares with Octopus naturally enhance the fare collection and payment process, and would help promote Hong Kong as a smart city, in turn propelling Hong Kong to a cashless society,” said Sunny Cheung, CEO of Octopus Cards Limited.In June, HKTaxi planned to bid for Hong Kong’s franchised taxis, with 200 premium vehicles operating under the proposed scheme. Lui said in an interview that after an internal assessment, HKTaxi would need an investment of HK$100 million for running that number of cabs.