Mr. Angus Lee Assumes Office as New Chief Executive Officer of Octopus
Mr. Angus Lee, Chief Growth Officer of Octopus Holdings Limited (OHL) has succeeded Mr. Sunny Cheung as the new CEO of the Octopus group since 1 September.
Mr. Lee is a proven executive with over 22 years of deep experience in general management, organisational strategy and railway operations. Immediately prior to joining OHL, he was the General Manager of MTR Railway Operations (Macau) Company, after holding several senior management positions at MTR Corporation. Mr. Lee has extensive leadership experience managing businesses in Hong Kong, and internationally in Sweden, Japan, Beijing and Macau, with an astute understanding of culture and consumer behaviour.
Regarding his new role, Mr. Lee remarked, “I am honoured and privileged to be appointed CEO of OHL, a pioneering company in electronic payments and at the forefront of this fast transforming industry. I am looking forward to working closely with the dynamic team, along with our shareholders and stakeholders to take advantage of the market opportunities ahead, while continuing to strengthen Octopus’ roles and vision in serving the greater community.”
Mr. Sunny Cheung Retires as CEO
Having served almost nine years as CEO of the Octopus group, Mr. Sunny Cheung retired on 31 August.
Under his leadership, the Octopus group has grown from strength to strength, establishing significant milestones such as the launch of the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme and Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme in conjunction with the Government; and forging strategic partnerships with Apple and Samsung in creating the virtual Octopus.
In commending the invaluable significant achievements of Mr. Cheung, Mr. David Eldon, Non-executive Chairman of OHL, said, “Mr. Cheung’s outstanding leadership qualities and his passion for work and ethics have been instrumental in driving the business expansion of OHL, with the launches of many revolutionary products and services. He has built a strong leadership bench that is ready to further drive digitalisation and inclusive technology into the future. We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to Mr. Cheung for his dedication and valuable contributions to the Octopus group over the past years and wish him the very best in his retirement.”
OCL Launches Octopus Mobile POS Helping Small and Medium-sized Retail Merchants and Taxi Drivers Accept Cashless Payments During the Pandemic
Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) has launched the Octopus Mobile POS, enabling small and medium-sized retail merchants and taxi drivers to accept all forms of Octopus payments – including Octopus cards, Octopus on Apple Pay, Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay and Octopus O! ePay QR code.
Merchants using either Android or iOS mobile phones can download the Octopus App for Business. Upon pairing their mobile phones with the Octopus Mobile POS via the Bluetooth function, and turning on the “Cashier mode” of the Octopus App for Business, merchants can enter the transaction amount, which will be immediately displayed on the screen of the Octopus Mobile POS. Customers can just tap their Octopus onto the screen for payment. Since neither the merchants nor customers have to handle cash during the whole payment process using the Octopus Mobile POS, it can help reduce the chance of virus transmission.
To encourage merchants to use the Octopus Mobile POS, from now till 31 December, all new merchants – including retailers and taxi drivers – who have successfully set up an account, can have the Bank Account Fund Transfer Fee waived for the first six months and receive an Octopus Mobile POS (priced at HK$228) for free. Taxi drivers can enjoy additional welcome and usage rewards.
For details, please visit:
https://www.octopus.com.hk/en/business/become-a-merchant/business-octopus-app/guide/mpos/index.html
Reactivate or Return Inactive Octopus to Avoid the Inactive Octopus Administrative Fee
Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) reminds customers that the “Inactive Octopus Administrative Fee” for certain Octopus types will be levied starting 1 October.
For specific On-Loan Adult Octopus which has no add-value or payment transaction for a period of three years, a HK$15 fee will be charged and subsequently every 12 months of inactivity thereafter, up to the stored value (if any) and deposit remaining on the card.
On-Loan Adult Octopus are issued for customers’ regular usage and hence most card holders in Hong Kong will not be subject to this fee under normal circumstances. Customers are reminded that they can avoid the fee by simply making a single add-value or payment transaction or return the card before the 3-year inactive period.
OCL expresses that the “Inactive Octopus Administrative Fee” was announced in June 2017, well in advance of the levy effective date on 1 October, with the aim of encouraging customers either to use their On-Loan Adult Octopus regularly, or return them for a full refund if they are no longer required.
The “Inactive Octopus Administrative Fee” only applies to certain Octopus types, while Anonymous On-Loan Child and Elder Octopus, Octopus with fare concession for Persons with Disabilities and students and others are exempted. For details, please visit https://www.octopus.com.hk/en/consumer/octopus-cards/proper-use/inactive-octopus/index.html.
Phasing Out of Octopus Rewards Programme
The Octopus Rewards Programme is phasing out. If there is still Reward$ in the Membership Octopus as of 1 September, the Rewards$ will be specially arranged to convert into Octopus top-up value at a rate of Reward$1 = HK$1*. Starting from 17 September, the Octopus top-up value has been made available for members to collect in batches through the Octopus App or Octopus Service Points. Any Octopus top-up value (if any) that has not been collected by 31 December will be automatically forfeited without prior notice.
*Reward$ less than HK$0.1 will be rounded up to HK$0.1
Customers to Replace Their Octopus When Hearing “Dood ~ Dood Dood”
In June, to continue providing customers with reliable, fast and secure payment service, Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) began replacing On-Loan Octopus issued from 2002 onwards in batches, free of charge. On-Loan Octopus in each batch will receive a special prompt – a "Dood~Dood Dood" sound – when tapped on Octopus readers. This prompt will be in effect for at least three months, serving as the final call notification, to remind customers that their On-Loan Octopus needs to be replaced. To continue using Octopus services, customers should replace their On-Loan Octopus before they become invalid.
For details, please visit:
https://www.octopus.com.hk/en/consumer/card-replacement/about/index.html
Octopus Management Engages in Stakeholder Activities
In July, then CEO Mr. Sunny Cheung joined the Hong Kong Trade Development Council E-Tailing Summit Academy’s Webinar as a guest speaker, sharing with the audience how to combine online and offline channels to cater for customers’ needs, and provide a seamless customer experience.
Also, Head of HRA Ms. Connie Chan spoke at the Hong Kong Productivity Council’s “HR Transformations – People Analytics” Seminar, sharing her insights on how analytics can help leaders and managers make better human capital decisions, particularly in talent acquisitions, retention, career development and training effectiveness.
