Hong Kong travellers demand refunds after Octopus service glitches in Japan

Some Hong Kong travellers using the Octopus App’s new cross-border payment PayPay service, in Japan have reported frequent system malfunctions and incorrect charges, despite the company claiming the service is popular.

A week after the service launched, many Hongkongers took to social media on Tuesday to criticise the new service as a failure.

In a response to the Post, Octopus said the app had experienced some payment settlement issues, which were resolved on Tuesday night, and that refunds were expected to be completed by Wednesday.

However, the company did not disclose details of the app malfunctions.

The cross-border payment service was designed to provide convenience for Octopus users in Japan, a popular destination for Hong Kong residents.

Through a partnership between Octopus and Japan’s largest code-based payment provider PayPay, users can use the Octopus App to make payments at PayPay merchants via QR code with no transaction fees.

Octopus promised no transaction fees and a favourable currency exchange rate, which could save 2 to 3 per cent compared with credit card payments and 1 to 1.5 per cent compared with other digital wallet payment methods.