Press Release 19 June 2025
Octopus and Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council
Join Hands to Launch Hong Kong's Digital Food Voucher Platform
Streamlining Food Assistance for Underprivileged Families,
Promoting Convenience and Personalised Service Experience
Hong Kong, 19 June 2025 – Octopus Cards Limited (Octopus) and Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited (the Welfare Council) are proud to announce the launch of a groundbreaking digital food voucher distribution platform, aiming to digitalise food voucher distribution to assist families, protect their dignity, and promote operational efficiency in food assistance services. The platform was built on the technology that powers Octopus’ loyalty platform Easy Earn.
Transforming Traditional Food Assistance Service
This new digital platform optimising the traditional food assistance scheme and providing a more convenient and personalised experience for service users. Leveraging the ubiquitous of the Octopus App and Easy Earn, the platform is the first of its kind in Hong Kong covering a wide range of merchants including supermarket and restaurants.
Currently, the Welfare Council distributes over 240,000 paper food vouchers to approximately 6,200 beneficiary families under its "Blessed Food - Short-term Food Assistance Service" in a year. The newly launched digital platform opens a flexible channel for the service users to collect and redeem the food vouchers through Octopus app anytime anywhere, enabling them to access and manage their food vouchers more conveniently and discreetly. Service users can also purchase the food according to their own needs or pay at self-service checkout counters in stores – enhancing convenience and preventing social stigma.
In addition, the platform facilitates the distribution of food vouchers combo precisely according to the diverse needs of service users, which significantly enhances the efficiency of the food assistance service. Two short-term food assistance service teams operated by the Welfare Council are currently serving a total of five districts including Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing. This new digital platform enables more efficient data tracking, allowing more appropriate service arrangement to those in genuine need, creating a win-win situation for both service users and the Welfare Council.
Promoting Smart City Development in Hong Kong
Aligning with the Hong Kong government's vision for a more integrated and technologically advanced society, leveraging technology to improve the lives of its citizens, the platform embodies the innovative mindset to transform established service modes to bring tangible benefits and convenience to the public.
Tim Ying, CEO of Octopus: "At Octopus, we call Hong Kong home. We are humbled that public sector partners such as the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council can leverage our technology stack to support our community. This partnership demonstrates that Octopus’ existing innovation can be deployed creatively to improve the livelihood of the most vulnerable. We look forward to play our part in making Hong Kong not just a smarter but also a more inclusive city."
Patricia Lau, CEO of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council: “At the Welfare Council, we are committed to providing holistic care that helps vulnerable communities 'transform lives and live in abundance.' This digital platform reflects our dedication to integrating technology with compassion, enhancing operational efficiency while providing quality service to those we serve. Our collaboration with Octopus exemplifies how innovative digital solutions can build a more inclusive Hong Kong, where support reaches those in need both effectively and respectfully."
Photo Caption
Photo 1: (From Left) Tim Ying, CEO of Octopus and Patricia Lau, CEO of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council jointly announced the launch of the groundbreaking digital food voucher distribution platform, promoting the digitalisation of food assistance services and providing service users with a more convenient and personalised service experience.
Photo 2-3: Tim Ying, CEO of Octopus and Patricia Lau, CEO of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council visited the Blessed Food Kowloon City Service Centre to learn about the operation of Blessed Food short-term food assistance service and the digital food voucher distribution platform.
Photo 4: Service users can collect and redeem the food vouchers through Octopus app anytime anywhere, and purchase the food according to their own needs and pay at the self-serviced check-out counters, making it more flexible and convenient as well as empowering for user.
Photo 5: The platform enables the Welfare Council to collect and analyse distribution data, which significantly enhances the accuracy of data tracking, allowing for appropriate service arrangements to those in genuine need.
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