Octopus has announced a permanent waiver of service fees for over 46,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and 25,000 taxi drivers on the first HK$10,000 transactions made through the Octopus App for Business.

This initiative, effective from 1 August, aims to support the city’s small businesses by easing fiscal pressure and enhancing their competitiveness in a rapidly evolving market.

According to Rita Li Yuk-yi, Octopus’s Sales and Marketing Director, the measure is designed to help micro and small merchants expand their customer base and stay competitive.

“Micro and small businesses are the backbone of Hong Kong’s economy. This series of new measures demonstrate our commitment to empowering business owners, helping them stay competitive and resilient, “

said Rita.

Octopus has processed over 200 million transactions without charging MSMEs any service fees. Additionally, it offers an all-in-one Octopus payment solution with zero setup costs.

New businesses signing up for the Octopus App for Business will also benefit from zero bank account fund transfer fees for the first six months and a free Octopus Mobile POS terminal.

Ritanoted that over 80 percent of merchants using the app have a monthly transaction volume of HK$10,000 or less, meaning most business users will now benefit from a full exemption of bank transfer service fees.

Octopus is also developing a new fund transfer method that will enable small business sole proprietors to transfer their business income free of charge to their Octopus cards, further reducing operating costs in the second half of this year.

Additionally, the company plans to open the Octopus App for Business payment network to other payment platforms, offering merchants new revenue sources and acceptance options.

The Octopus App for Business’s card-reading function will be enhanced with a user-friendly interface to enable faster payments.

With the permanent service fee waiver and upcoming measures to expand the network, Rita is confident that tourists will find paying with a single Octopus account convenient, catering to their preference for in-depth visits to small stores.

Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik