| (Hong Kong, 26 April 2012) Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) and Guangdong Lingnan Pass Company Limited (LNP, formerly GDPass Payment Network Co. Ltd.) today held a ceremony in Guangzhou for signing the master agreement on the co-named card issuance collaboration. The signing symbolises an impressive stride in furthering integration and collaboration between Hong Kong and Guangdong in cross-border commuting and spending. With the issuance of the two-in-one card, residents in both places can travel and spend with the Octopus- Lingnan Pass co-named card.
OCL and LNP announced in today's signing ceremony that the co-named card will be launched in mid of this year. The two-in-one card, to be issued in both Hong Kong and Guangdong, will be the first dual purse card for commuting and spending in both places. The smart card issued in Hong Kong will be named as "Octopus • Lingnan Pass" and those issued in Guangdong Province will be named as "Lingnan Pass • Octopus".
The co-named card issuance collaboration between OCL and LNP is one of the major projects in the Framework Agreement on Hong Kong / Guangdong Co-operation. In August last year, OCL and LNP had signed a framework agreement on the interoperability project witnessed by Mr Huang Huahua, the Governor of Guangdong Province, and Mr Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government.
Mr Sunny Cheung, Chief Executive Officer of Octopus Cards Limited (OCL), said, "We appreciate the support of the Hong Kong and Guangdong Provincial governments on the interoperability project between OCL and LNP. After signing the framework agreement in August last year, OCL and LNP have been working closely on the overall business model and other specific arrangements concerning technical and operational aspects. We are in the process of finalising all the logistics details. We expect the issuance of this card will bring convenience and efficiency for cross-border travelling and spending, the card is forth-coming in mid of this year."
Mr Xie Zhendong, General Manager of Guangdong Lingnan Pass Company Limited said, "The issuance of the co-named card would greatly facilitate the people in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong for travelling and consumption in the two places, enabling people travel throughout the Lingnan region with one card. It is a major milestone in materialising the regional co-operation as well as economic and transportation integration of the two places. The interoperability will benefit the region as well as its people."
The dual purse model will have two separate electronic purses, one for Octopus in Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and one for Lingnan Pass in Renminbi (RMB). Cardholders can use the HKD purse in Hong Kong and the RMB purse in Guangdong Province. The two-in-one card will be an anonymous card, cardholders can add value to the respective purses at all authorised add value service points in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province respectively.
The upcoming two-in-one card can be used on public transport and at the retail outlets that accept Octopus or Lingnan Pass. Currently, Lingnan Pass can be used in Guangzhou, Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Shanwei, Huizhou, Maoming, Zhuhai, Jieyang, Heyuan, Yunfu and Shaoguan. With the expansion of Lingnan Pass' network to more cities in the Guangdong Province and the rapid development of small amount e-payment services among the retail outlets in Hong Kong and the Guangdong Province, people in these two places will experience the convenience and wide coverage in using this Octopus-Lingnan Pass two-in-one card.
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