Leaks continue as Apple Event Day (September 10) and the iOS 13 release date (September 19) approach. The latest screenshot shows an Octopus Card Limited (OCL) co-brand multifunction credit card.
Octopus multifunction cards are similar to JR East View + Suica cards that combine credit and transit card functions with auto-recharge in one plastic package. When loading multifunction cards into Apple Pay only the credit portion is added. The functionality of the transit card is preserved instead of killing the plastic card altogether, which is the case when regular Octopus or Suica plastic transit cards are added to Apple Pay, a one way trip.
This ‘only adding the credit card to Apple Pay’ feature allows users to migrate back to the plastic combo transit card at any time. These cards are expensive to make and maintain, and card issuers want the full functionality of the card to be preserved. For this reason I doubt the ability to read multifunction cards into Apple Pay will ever happen. It’s far easier to only add the credit card portion and leave the plastic card untouched. The user can easily create a virtual transit card directly in iOS 13 Wallet and link it to the credit card for auto-recharge with the Octopus App or Suica App.
It’s only natural that Octopus multifunction cards join the parent Octopus transit card on iOS 13 Wallet to make one big happy Hong Kong Apple Pay family with multiple Express Transit Card (FeliCa and EMV) goodness. I sincerely hope the EMV Express Transit support shown in the screenshot does not mean that super slow EMV Contactless will be bolted onto MTR transit gates any time soon.
At any rate there should be some other Apple Pay goodies along with the official Apple mention of Apple Pay Octopus on September 10. Enjoy the show.
Update: a Hong Kong reader reached out to inform me that Octopus co-branded credit cards have been available on Apple Pay since the service started in Hong Kong. It’s nothing new. However, the multifunction angle is a new wrinkle when adding the Octopus co-branded cards to iOS 13 Apple Pay Wallet. Hong Kong iPhone users with multifunction Octopus cards will have to create a new Octopus transit card for Wallet use. OCL will undoubtedly update Octopus App with more auto-recharge options that relink the cards in Apple Pay Wallet.
Update 2: more Apple Pay Octopus service details, screenshots and new in development version of Octopus app
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