Hong Konger Card Game Passions Drive Digital Payments at HSBC

HSBC’s PayMe – Hong Kong’s largest e-wallet operator – reached 2 million users, fuelled in part by the city’s love for card and tile games.

The 2 million users represented a 25 percent year-on-year increase as transactions in the broader e-wallet payment activity, run by 10 operators, tripled due to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s faster payment systems (FPS).

According to HSBC’s managing director and head of PayMe Kerry Wong Chu Po-yin, the accelerated growth was driven by the ongoing pandemic and increasing bill settlements.

We have seen above-average growth in registration and more active usage of PayMe over these few months of Covid-19 pandemic,” Wong said in an SCMP report. The increase is seen in settling of bills, including those related to online social games such as mahjong and poker.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused significantly accelerated digital adoption in Asia across banks and client segments. It took PayMe 17 months to acquire its first million users but around eight months to achieve the second million.

Need for digital access aside, the coronavirus pandemic has created a constant demand for healthcare goods – some merchants with 15,000 to 40,000 transactions in a single day involving surgical face masks, according to Wong.

Our payment platform also helps start-ups and other businesses to accept payment easily,» she said. «Looking ahead, we will line up more big companies such as utility providers.