More Taxis Use Digital Payments As E-vouchers Launch

A lot more taxis are accepting digital payments in the hope of gaining more business when the government starts handing out electronic spending vouchers on August 1, a taxi association representative says.

On an RTHK programme, the chairman of the Taxi Dealers and Owners Association, Ng Kwan-shing, said on Friday that the number of drivers who have set up e-payment systems in their taxis has jumped by more than 20 percent in the past month.

“Taxi drivers hope to take advantage of the spending vouchers scheme and do more business. Companies operating different digital payment systems have deployed a lot of staff to taxi stops and petrol stations to help drivers set up the e-wallets,” he said.

Ng said these companies have also encouraged drivers to accept e-payments by exempting them from service fees.

He said hopes the fee exemption will continue in future.

Residents who have registered for the spending vouchers will soon get the first instalment of HK$2,000 via the digital wallets of their choice, namely Octopus Card, AlipayHK, Tap & Go or WeChat Pay HK.

The government has said it hopes the HK$5,000 voucher scheme will boost local spending amid the Covid-19 pandemic.