Francis Fong, honorary president of the IT Federation, said the trend of mobile payments would only become bigger in the years to come.
“Everyone now has a smartphone to complete transactions. This is a big advantage over credit cards, where merchants’ terminals must be connected to a landline,” Fong said.
IT Federation’s Fong said rather than directly competing with its rivals, Octopus should capitalise on its dominant position by helping new entrants set up shop and charging a commission.
“The pie is big in Hong Kong. You can partner with the supermarkets, while I can focus on convenience stores, and so on. It doesn’t have to be cutthroat competition,” he said.
The IT expert also said it was unfair to blame Octopus for the city’s slow development in the mobile payment market.
“I heard that Octopus was ready to launch an electronic wallet function years ago. But it was not until last year that the Monetary Authority issued licences.”
