Octopus card

Octopus card
八達通

Adult version of the Octopus card since 2017
Location	Hong Kong
Launched	1 September 1997; 27 years ago (1997-09-01)
Technology	FeliCa NFC
Operator	Octopus Cards Limited
Currency	HKD (HK$3,000 maximum load)
Stored-value	Pay as you go
Auto recharge	Automatic Add Value Service (through credit cards)
Validity	MTR, MTR Light Rail Hong Kong Tramways, Peak Tram MTR Bus, Park Island Transport, Discovery Bay Transit Services Citybus, Kowloon Motor Bus, Long Win Bus, New Lantao Bus Star Ferry, Sun Ferry, Coral Sea Ferry, Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry, Fortune Ferry Some taxis Convenience stores, Supermarkets, Restaurants Parking, Vending machines
Website	octopus.com.hk

The Octopus card (Chinese: 八達通; Jyutping: baat3 daat6 tung1, Cantonese) is a reusable contactless stored value smart card for making electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong. Launched in September 1997 to collect fares for the territory's mass transit system, it has grown into a widely used system for transport and other retail transactions in Hong Kong. It is also used for purposes such as recording school attendance and permitting building access. The cards are used by 98 percent of the population of Hong Kong aged 15 to 64^[1] and the system handles more than 15 million transactions, worth over HK$220 million, every day.^[1]

The Octopus card system was the world's second contactless smart card system, after the Korean Upass. It won the Chairman's Award at the World Information Technology and Services Alliance's 2006 Global IT Excellence Awards for, among other things, being the world's leading complex automatic fare collection and contactless smart card payment system. Its success led to the development of similar systems elsewhere, including Navigo card in Paris, Oyster card in London, Opal card in New South Wales, and NETS FlashPay and EZ-Link in Singapore.