IN 1997, two months after Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty, it acquired a cutting-edge payment technology. People could rush through turnstiles with a wave of their colourful Octopus cards—stored-value cards pre-loaded with cash. Its latest advance, however, is risibly low-tech. On October 30th Octopus launched an extensible pole with a plastic hand to help drivers pay at toll booths. Critics of Hong Kong’s cautious approach to fintech snorted in derision. Meanwhile, a government official was quoted as blaming Octopus for stifling the city’s shift to cashlessness. Both criticisms are unfair. Hong Kongers enthusiastically embrace electronic payments and do well from the fierce competition between different platforms.

1997年，香港回归中国两个月后，采用了一项前沿支付技术。在储值卡里预先存现金后，人们可以用五颜六色的八达通刷开地铁闸机。然而，八达通最近的更新却是科技含量低得可笑。10月30日，八达通推出了一个伸缩杆配上塑料手，司机可以用它在收费站支付费用。对于香港使用金融科技的谨慎，批评人士嗤之以鼻。与此同时，有报道称一位政府官员指责八达通将城市变为无现金支付。这两种批评都不公平。香港人热情地接受了电子支付，还在不同平台之间的激烈竞争中省了钱。

The Octopus card, designed for journeys on Hong Kong’s trains, buses, trams and ferries, soon stretched its tentacles into shops. In 2016 the company generated revenues of HK$956m ($122m) for its owners (mostly transport companies).

八达通最初是为香港地铁、公交、有轨电车和轮渡而设计，后来很快应用于商店。2016年，该公司为其所有者（主要是运输公司）创造了9.56亿港元（合8.11亿人民币）的收入。

Local pundits complain that Hong Kong lags behind mainland China, where even beggars accept e-donations. China’s love of apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay means that travellers to the mainland are finding it harder to get by without them. Similarly the 46m mainland tourists who visit Hong Kong every year are demanding ways to spend their e-cash. Francis Fong, an IT expert, reckons this could persuade merchants to accept new forms of payment.

香港本地学者抱怨香港落后于中国大陆，因为在大陆连乞讨都用二维码收款。大陆人喜欢使用支付宝和微信支付等应用，香港旅客在前往大陆时，会发现没有它们简直寸步难行。同样，每年来香港旅游的4600万大陆游客也在急切盼望能够使用手机支付。IT专家弗朗西斯·冯（Francis Fong）认为，这可以促使商家接受新的支付方式。

But whereas in mainland China, mobile apps compete almost exclusively with cash, Hong Kong’s consumers have many choices. Already 60% of transactions are made electronically. A year ago the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the central bank, licensed 16 “stored-value facilities” on which consumers deposit money; between them they have 43.5m cards, including Octopus (which has 32.8m) and other pre-paid bank cards. Other options include Alipay, PayPal and WeChat Pay.

不过即便是在大陆，手机应用几乎只与现金竞争，香港消费者有很多选择。已有60%的交易都是电子交易。一年前，香港的中央银行香港金融管理局 （HKMA）发出了16个“储值支付工具”（Stored value facilities，SVF）牌照，消费者可以在里面存款；除此之外香港人拥有4350万张卡，其中包括3280万张八达通和其他预付卡。香港人还可以选择支付宝、Paypal和微信支付。

Each payment method has different advantages. Octopus is fast and reliable, but can be cumbersome for moving money. Its experiments with apps and a mobile-phone SIM card have not been popular. Credit cards are seen as secure but processing fees can be high. Mobile apps are easy for merchants to install but have a reputation for being less secure.

每种支付方式都有不同的好处。八达通便捷而可信度强，但转账却很麻烦。它的手机的应用以及与手机电话卡绑定的尝试并不十分受欢迎。信用卡十分安全，但手续费高。手机应用对于商家来说很容易上手，但安全信誉不高。

Outlets and payments firms compete fiercely to lure shoppers with discounts and rewards. Howard Lee of the HKMA argues that it is not government’s job to pick technologies and that anyway it has no agenda to try to move Hong Kongers away from cash. Instead it is regulating new products to provide a “level playing field” so consumers can decide winners.

商店和支付公司之间的竞争十分激烈，纷纷通过折扣和奖励吸引顾客。金管所的霍华德·李（Howard Lee）认为，选择技术并不是政府的工作，但无论如何，政府没有试图使香港人远离现金的计划。相反的，它正在监管新产品，以提供一个“公平的竞争环境”，这样消费者就能从中择优。

Even Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong, the chief executive of Octopus, expects the transport companies one day to accept new ways to pay, even including his competitors’ apps. In a city where tannoys at stations repeatedly warn commuters to look up from their phones, a scheme which allows more screen time should be popular. The plastic hand could double as a selfie-stick.

甚至连八达通行政总裁张耀堂（Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong）也预计，运输公司未来会接受新的支付方式，甚至包括竞争对手的应用。在这个城市里，车站广播会反复提醒通勤者别看手机、记得抬头，这个让人们多用手机的计划应该会受到欢迎。塑料手还可以用作自拍杆。

编译：白雪

审校：张思琦

编辑：翻吧君

来源：经济学人