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Scrap the shrapnel

05.04.2006
With over 9.2 million daily transactions in Hong Kong, the proximity stored-value Octopus card needs no introduction. Sammy Kam, technical director of Octopus Cards Ltd, talks to Computerworld Hong Kong (CWHK)'s Stefan Hammond about transaction times, making coins obsolete, and his firm's next-generation card-readers.

CWHK: Do you consider the Octopus card an RFID (radio frequency ID) device?

Sammy Kam: RFID and contactless smart cards share the same basic technology'you have a small chip with an antenna that serves two purposes: one is to communicate with the reader using radio frequency, and the other is to create just enough power to power the chip for processing. RFID is basically for identification: the reader will check the ID of the chip and send that info to a back-end system for processing. But contactless smart cards have more functions: you can write information into the chip, and you have built-in security functions.

CWHK: The Octopus was introduced in 1997, and you went with Sony card-reader technology. Was there any other technology you considered?

Kam: There was Philips, and Sony Felica [at that time]. We did a detailed comparison using multiple criteria and went with Sony'it's still one of the best in the industry.

CWHK:: Why should Hong Kong businesses adopt the Octopus as a payment option?