Macau Pass to expand cashless payment service to Hong Kong in 2021, a step towards greater convenience in Greater Bay Area
- The MPay wallet will enable Macau’s residents to use their cashless payment platforms denominated in the Macanese pataca with merchants in Hong Kong
- It will also enable Hong Kong’s residents to pay for goods and services across the border more easily without having to exchange the Hong Kong dollar for the pataca
Macau Pass, the territory’s sole mobile payment provider, said it’s aiming to launch its MPay electronic wallet in Hong Kong by the second quarter of 2021, taking a step towards making financial services interoperable and daily life more convenient for people living within the Greater Bay Area.
The MPay wallet, in collaboration with Hong Kong’s home-grown cashless payment service Octopus Holdings, will enable Macau’s residents to use their cashless payment platforms denominated in the Macanese pataca with merchants in Hong Kong. It will also enable Hong Kong’s residents, the second-biggest group of visitors to Macau after mainland Chinese tourists, to pay for goods and services across the border more easily without having to exchange the Hong Kong dollar for the pataca.
“The firm hopes to offer MPay in the second quarter of next year in Hong Kong, the favourite destination for tourists and businessmen from Macau,” said Macau Pass director Joe Liu, a former chartered surveyor turned entrepreneur.
The plan is an important step towards creating a seamless payment system across the Greater Bay Area, the cluster of 11 cities with 70 million people in southern China to which Macau and Hong Kong belong. A one-stop service that allows residents across the region to pay for goods and services – without having to deal with three different sets of currencies – is vital in improving the practicality daily life across borders.
