Hong Kong bank adds another telco to mobile payments roster
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Bank has rolled out its NFC-based mobile payments service with the telco SmarTone, meaning the bank now partners with most of Hong Kong's major carriers. The service will go live in the first quarter of 2014, allowing SmarTone customers with NFC-enabled smartphones to make contactless payments through MasterCard PayPass terminals at more than 3,000 merchant outlets in Hong Kong, according to an announcement.
Users must download the app and get a free SIM card from the MNO, then download Hang Seng bank cards to their devices to pay. Hang Seng said the payment process is encrypted for security, and customers can also opt to enter a password each time they make a payment.
Nixon Chan, the bank's head of retail banking and wealth management, said most of Hong Kong's major telcos now offer the bank's mobile payment platform, which was introduced in June.
"This will ... help drive the market's receptiveness to open platform mobile payment services," he said in a news release. "Hang Seng will continue to actively explore opportunities to expand its service scope through collaborative alliances."
The bank is offering incentives to drive usage. Customers can download e-coupons through the app and combine them with merchant offers, which will double for customers who pay by mobile. And customers who spend at least HK$500 through the channel during the first three months will receive a $100 reward.
Learn more about contactless/NFC.