Sawt Falasteen - Hong Kong's popular Octopus card expands to mainland China

The move comes as post-pandemic domestic tourism picks up again, with large numbers of Hong Kong residents flocking to the neighbouring Chinese city of Shenzhen for cheaper products since the border opened last year.

Hong Kong and mainland China use different currencies -- the Hong Kong dollar and the China yuan -- and operate different capital controls, under the "One Country Two Systems" principle that Beijing has used to rule Hong Kong since the former British colony's handover to China in 1997.

Unlike most public services in mainland China, users of the new Octopus-China card are not required to register their real names and identity information.

The Octopus card is possessed by 98 percent of Hong Kong's 7.5-million population with over 20 million copies in circulation.

While it is accepted almost everywhere in Hong Kong, the card is little known and used in mainland China, except for two special versions designed for cross-border usage in Guangdong province.

Under the new scheme, the Octopus-China card will be accepted on buses, subways, trains and ferries in about half of the cities in mainland China.

Customers in Hong Kong can buy the new card for HK$88 ($11.25) from around 300 convenience shops and 10 subway stations, and deposit up to HK$3,000 ($383.56) on it.

Transactions in mainland China will be paid in Hong Kong dollars, according to the daily exchange rate.

G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST