PayPal and Octopus announce partnership to drive e-commerce

PayPal Hong Kong Limited (PayPal) and Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) announced the launch of a mobile real-time top-up service to provide Hong Kong online shoppers with a seamless global e-commerce experience.The new service allows O! ePay Plus and Pro users to instantly top up their PayPal accounts through transferring funds from their O! ePay accounts, after linking up the two accounts, and shop online at any of the millions of local and international merchants in PayPal network. The daily top-up limit is HK$7,999.William Ip, Director, Large Enterprise and Marketplace, PayPal Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, said “Our innovation collaboration with OCL, Hong Kong’s leading contactless smart card payment player, reinforces our commitment to providing customers around the world with simpler and more secure payment experiences.”The partnership comes at a time when global digital payments are expected to continue to grow by an average of 10.9% in the next 2 years, according to Capgemini and BNP Paribus: World Payment report 2017, while Statista: E-Commerce Market report shows that Hong Kong’s e-commerce market is anticipated to reach HK$45.2 billion by 2022. Consumers will increasingly demand a more seamless and more convenient digital payment experience.  The collaboration between the 2 major digital payment leaders is connecting Octopus O! ePay users to PayPal’s global network of 19 million of merchants. Since customers now have broader top-up facilities other than credit cards or bank accounts, both company share the same mission in driving financial inclusion and e-commerce adoption in the city.Facing intense competition between online payment platforms, Ip is confident of the collaboration. “It widely increases the choices for Hong Kong People who prefer cash payment, not spending future money.”Sunny Cheung, CEO of OCL, said that the company also aims to increase the use cases of the Octopus Cards. He added, OCL is planning to open API soon.As a promotion, PayPal and Octopus Cards will offer a HK$50 rebate to the first 5,000 eligible users who sign up the service and top up HK$200 or more in a single transaction from their Octopus O! ePay account to PayPal account. The offer is valid until 31 July.