The Application of Pre-Paid Cash Card for Consumers

A prepaid credit card which is not like a credit card, because it does not have credit is offered by the card issuer. For instances, when the card-holder using the card to spends money which has been "stored" via a prior deposit by themselves. However, it is can be used in similar ways with credit-card such as Visa or MasterCard but make sure it have money inside your bank. With prepaid credit cards you are not charged any interest but you are often charged monthly fees after an arbitrary time period.

The prepaid cash card using in Hong Kong is the Octopus card which is a stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems. The Octopus card system has since grown into a widely used in Hong Kong for purchases on virtually all public transports.It is available at over 1,000 different Service Providers including convenience stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, on-street parking meters, car parks, and other point-of-sale applications such as service stations and vending machines.

Octopus is also used for office and residential premises access control. As each Octopus has a unique ID number, cardholders only need to register their Octopus at the management office, and the ID will be stored in the central security system. Therefore who are not residents or employees will not be able to gain access to the building.

Besides, Octopus has been introduced into the school environment which is convenient to the students and making their school life easier. Students can now use Octopus to buy food at tuck shops and kiosks, for roll call and for miscellaneous school payments.

Octopus provides an Automatic Add Value Service (AAVS) through which your Octopus is automatically reloaded by debiting your credit card account with HK$250 or HK$500 (to be decided by customers upon application) as soon as the value falls below HK$0.