Hong Kong smartcard provider Octopus announced a deal with Samsung to integrate its app into Samsung Pay, increasing the use cases for both payment systems in the country.
Octopus – through its card and app – is already widely used across Hong Kong for a range of online and offline payments, including travel services through a physical card and person-to-person cash transfer on its app.
Following the deal, announced today (11 December), Octopus users with Samsung handsets will also be able to make NFC-based retail payments using their Octopus accounts – a move hailed by the card company as making mobile payment “more comprehensive than ever” and “spurring progress towards becoming a smart city”.
As a result of the tie-up, Samsung Pay will be given a significant boost with the large base already using Octopus.
The service – branded Smart Octopus – will be available to Samsung Pay users on 14 December.
Octopus Card CEO Sunny Cheung (pictured, right, with Samsung Electronics HK VP Yiyin Zhao) said: “Our partnership with Samsung represents a significant milestone for Octopus to introduce NFC payment via smartphones, offering our customers a fast, simple and seamless over-the-air mobile payment solution.”
“We believe Smart Octopus will become the new norm to smartphone users seeking greater convenience while carrying less. We are thrilled to have Samsung support us in making Smart Octopus possible, in turn bringing more value to customers.”