(Hong Kong, 22 November 2007) Octopus Knowledge Limited, a subsidiary of Octopus
Holdings Limited, has joined forces with Electronic Documents
Centre LLC (EDC), a market leader in the Middle East for
card personalization, billing and fulfillment, to develop
and implement a contactless smartcard payment system for
the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai.
Modelled on Hong Kong's Octopus, the new system, known as the Unified Automatic
Fare Collection Scheme, will be a common payment platform
for multiple public transport services, including metro,
buses and parking, administered by the RTA in Dubai. The
project further demonstrates Octopus' success and continued
drive to expand its business abroad.
Apart from overall project management,
OKL will also provide the Octopus Clearing House System and
a loyalty system to RTA's Card Scheme Operator, in addition
to sharing Octopus' world-recognized expertise in the operation
of a public transport e-ticketing system.
The project was coordinated and tendered
by EDC, a joint venture between Emirates Post and Abba Electronics.
EDC will provide the card initialisation and personalisation
system in this project.
The project will be implemented in
phases with completion of the back-end system scheduled for
the first quarter of 2009. The entire project is expected
to be completed by the end of 2009. When the system is in
full operation, over two million usage transactions per day
are expected to be processed through the transport e-ticketing
system.
"We are delighted to co-operate with
our partners to introduce a multi-purpose contactless electronic
payment smartcard system for Dubai," said Ms Prudence Chan,
Chief Executive Officer of Octopus. "It is our aspiration
to share our successful implementation in Hong Kong and bring
unparalleled operator and customer interface experience and
expertise to help other countries in doing the same. Our
aim is to make people's lives simpler and more convenient,
not only in Hong Kong but also in other parts of the world."
"As a market leader in the Middle East for services in card
personalization, billing and fulfillment, EDC is delighted
to partner with Octopus, which will share its expert knowledge
in the operation of the public transport e-ticketing system,
on account of its rich experience during the successful implementation
of the solution in Hong Kong," said Mr. Abdullah Al Ashram,
CEO of EDC. "EDC appreciates this important opportunity
to help to deliver the broader vision of the RTA in building
a world-leading infrastructure for the future of Dubai."
The Dubai project has added a new
dimension to Octopus' overseas consulting business. In 2003,
Octopus provided its unique technology and expertise for
a new public transport e-ticketing system in the Netherlands.
The system will be rolled out nationwide by 2009.
About Octopus
Launched in 1997, Hong Kong's Octopus
is the world’s leading and most extensive smartcard payment
system, with over 750 service providers across different
businesses including public transport, parking, retail, vending
and kiosks, schools and leisure facilities, as well as access
control for residential and commercial buildings. Merchants
and Octopus cardholders embrace Octopus for both its simplicity
and convenience. Today, more than 15 million Octopus cards
are in circulation, and the system handles over 10 million
transactions a day, with daily transaction value exceeding
HK$80 million.
In recent years, Octopus has started
to export its unique experience and technology overseas,
offering consultancy services and holding workshops for parties
from different parts of the world.
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