Hong Kong SAR China · Payments & e-money
Octopus Cards Limited
Octopus Cards Limited is a Hong Kong company based in Kowloon Bay. It operates the Octopus payment system and issues Octopus stored value cards and the Octopus Wallet. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) licenses it as a stored value facility (SVF) licensee under the Payment Systems and Stored Value Facilities Ordinance, with licence number SVF0001. Octopus Holdings Limited wholly owns it, and MTR Corporation Limited holds 64.02% of that holding company. Five Hong Kong transport operators set up the firm as Creative Star Limited in 1994. It took its current name in 2002, and its SVF licence took effect on 13 November 2016.
Licences and registrations
Held by Octopus Cards Limited. 1 entry on 1 of the 22 tracked registers, retrieved 25 September 2026.
| Register | Licence | Number | Jurisdiction | Status | Registered | Ends | Activities | Register entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Register of Stored Value Facility LicenseesHong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) | Stored Value Facility licenseeE-Money / Stored Value Institution | SVF0001 | Hong Kong SAR China | Active | 2016-11-13 | — |
|
Search the register ↗ |
- Each licence applies in the country of the regulator that granted it.
- Registers are tracked in 37 countries. Licences granted elsewhere are not recorded here.
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
Holds no BIC in Swift’s directory. No LEI is matched to this entry, and BICs are linked by LEI only.
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Customers
Not published
Employees
Not published
Ownership
Group subsidiary
100% Octopus Holdings Limited
Firm type
E-money and accounts
Trades as Octopus
- Ownership
- Octopus Holdings Limited owns 100% of the firm. The holding company's shareholders are MTR Corporation Limited (64.02%), Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (22.1%), KMB Public Bus Services Holdings Limited (13.83%) and Sun Ferry Services Company Limited (0.05%).
- Direct parent
- Octopus Holdings Limited, Hong Kong SAR China 100%
- Head office
- 46/F, Manhattan Place, 23 Wang Tai Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR China
- Incorporated
- 1994
- Name in the local language
- 八達通卡有限公司
- Former name
- Creative Star Limited
Online
- Websites & references
- octopus.com.hk ↗
Wikipedia ↗ - Official social accounts
- None found
Sources · 17 pages consulted
- octopus.com.hk/mobile_app/octopusapp_tou/so_tnc_en.htm
- octopus.com.hk/tc/document/corporate-governance.pdf
- octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/about-octopus/profile/overview/index.html
- octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/about-octopus/profile/index.html
- octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/about-octopus/profile/structure/management.html
- octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/index.html
- octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/media/press-releases/2026/20260410.html
- octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/media/press-releases/2026/20260508.html
- octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/media/press-releases/2023/20230721.html
- octopus.com.hk/en/consumer/customer-service/faq/wallet/about.html
- mtr.com.hk/ch/corporate/investor/governance.html
- hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2025/05/20250507-9/
- hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2025/04/20250407-4/
- info.gov.hk/gia/general/202411/18/P2024111800501.htm
- hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2023/06/20230608-8/
- hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2023/05/20230531-3/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_Cards_Limited
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The HKMA licenses the firm as a stored value facility licensee under the Payment Systems and Stored Value Facilities Ordinance (licence SVF0001). The licence covers both Octopus cards and the Octopus Wallet.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Monetary Authority Hong Kong SAR China | Stored Value Facility Licence | SVF0001 | In its own name | Active | octopus.com.hk ↗ |
Licences and registrations the research found, at home and abroad, as the firm and its regulators publish them. The Licences and registrations card shows the entries on the registers the directory tracks.
Partners and safeguarding
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Safeguarding
- Segregated safeguarding accountsThe firm says it pays all customer funds into separate designated accounts at licensed banks in Hong Kong. It holds them as bare trustee for Octopus Cards Client Funds Limited, a company in its own group, and the banks have no right of set-off over those funds.
- Payment schemes and card networks
- Faster Payment System (FPS) Access not stated octopus.com.hk ↗
Mastercard Access not stated octopus.com.hk ↗
UnionPay Access not stated octopus.com.hk ↗
Banks and regulated firms the firm says hold its customers’ money, issue its cards, sponsor its accounts or settle its payments, as it discloses them in its terms and notices.
Products and markets
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
The firm issues physical and mobile Octopus stored value cards and the Octopus Wallet, with a linked Mastercard or UnionPay payment card, for paying on public transport and at shops. Merchants, including taxi drivers, accept Octopus through the Octopus App for Business and the Octopus Mobile POS. In May 2026 the firm said it processes more than 15 million transactions a day at nearly 190,000 acceptance points.
The firm serves customers in Hong Kong. Its products also offer some cross-border use, including payments in Mainland China through UnionPay QR codes and the Octopus–China T-Union transport card.
- Sells to
- Consumers · Small businesses · Enterprises · Public sector
- Serves customers in
- Hong Kong SAR China
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Chief executive
- Tim Ying Chief Executive Officer
- Chair
- Jeny Yeung Non-executive Chairperson, Octopus Holdings Limited
- Executive
- Nora Tang Director, Transport Business
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Other
The firm announced it would launch Octopus Easy Ride, a ride-booking feature in the Octopus App, in Hong Kong on 22 April 2026.
octopus.com.hk ↗ -
Leadership
Tim Ying became Chief Executive Officer of the Octopus group on 1 October 2023. He succeeded Angus Lee, who returned to MTR Corporation.
octopus.com.hk ↗
Compliance-relevant events of the last three years, newest first: fines and enforcement, investigations, security incidents, licence changes, funding rounds, acquisitions and leadership changes. Each links to its source.
Regulator warnings
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Impersonation Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong SAR China
The HKMA warned the public about fraudulent websites related to the firm, which the firm had reported.
hkma.gov.hk ↗ -
Impersonation Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong SAR China
The HKMA warned the public about phishing messages and fraudulent websites that impersonated the firm.
hkma.gov.hk ↗ -
Impersonation Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong SAR China
The HKMA warned the public about phishing messages and fraudulent websites related to the firm.
info.gov.hk ↗ -
Impersonation Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong SAR China
The HKMA warned the public about a fraudulent website related to the firm, which the firm had reported.
hkma.gov.hk ↗ -
Impersonation Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong SAR China
The HKMA warned the public about a fraudulent website related to the firm, which the firm had reported.
hkma.gov.hk ↗
Entries on regulators’ consumer-warning lists that name the firm or its brand. An impersonation warning is about fraudsters posing as the firm, not about the firm itself.
Identifiers
- Licence no. · HKMA-SVF
- SVF0001
- BIC
- Holds no BIC in Swift’s directory
- LEI
- No LEI mapped
- Elucidate firm ID
- 63b437eee6b3
Profile
- Type
- Payments & e-moneyPayment institutions, e-money and stored-value issuers, and account-information providers. Licensed under payment-services law (e.g. PSD2 in the EU and UK, the Payment Services Act in Singapore). Taken from the licences on the tracked registers.
- Regulation
- Prudential licenceAuthorised with capital, safeguarding and conduct requirements, e.g. an authorised payment or e-money institution in the EU or UK, a major payment institution in Singapore, or a MiCA crypto-asset service provider.
- Main licence class
- E-Money / Stored Value Institution
- Activities
- E-money / stored value
- Licensed in
- Hong Kong SAR China · East Asia & Pacific
- First registered
- 2016-11-13
Types come from Swift’s BIC classification, the licences on the 22 tracked registers, and the ECB and FSB bank lists. Most banks outside the euro area appear as financial institutions, because their supervisors’ registers are not tracked yet.
Ownership and group
GLEIF relationship records
No LEI is matched to this entry, so GLEIF relationship records cannot be linked.
Addresses
- Address on the register
- 46/F., Manhattan Place, 23 Wang Tai Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Country
- Hong Kong SAR China
ISO 20022 identification
As an agent in a Swift cross-border payment message (CBPR+)
This institution holds no BIC. A CBPR+ message identifies it by name and postal address, and may add its LEI or a clearing code.
- Identified by
- Name and postal address. No LEI or clearing code is mapped in the directory
- Postal address
- Does not fit the CBPR+ limits
- The address does not fit in the two address lines of 35 characters that CBPR+ allows next to a town and country.
CBPR+ identifies the instructing and instructed agents by BIC only. An institution without a BIC can be the debtor, creditor or an intermediary agent.
The values are as published by the register. Check them against your own records before use.
Sources & method
Register entries come from the public registers of financial regulators, standardised into one taxonomy. LEIs are matched through GLEIF, and a BIC is linked only through a shared LEI.
An institution missing from these registers is not necessarily unregulated.
Register entries are not matched against the OFAC or EU sanctions lists. Where the legal entity also holds a BIC, the matches for that BIC are on its page. Always screen against the official lists.
An institution is one entry in the directory: a BIC8 in Swift’s directory, or a firm on a tracked register that holds no BIC. Licences held by an institution with a BIC are shown on its page.
Read the methodology →Register for this page
- Register of Stored Value Facility Licensees—Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) · source ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- Overview, authorisation, partners, products, leadership and events—researched per institution by an AI model with web search, from the firm's own website, terms and filings, regulators' registers and notices, company registers and news. Licences, partners, figures, people and events link to their source, and each card shows the research date. AI research can be wrong or out of date, so check key facts at the source.
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