New Octopus card offering public transport access in 336 Chinese mainland cities

Octopus Cards announced the "Octopus - China T-Union Card", enabling cardholders to take public transport in more than 336 cities across the country covered by the China T-Union transport network.

Unlike previous cross-border Octopus cards linking Hong Kong and mainland cities such as Shenzhen, the new Octopus card allows users to top up their balance using Hong Kong dollars, eliminating the need to maintain a separate yuan account as with previous cross-border Octopus cards.

The funds in the new card will be automatically converted to yuan at prevailing exchange rates for payments in the mainland.

It can also function as a regular Octopus card when used locally.

The Octopus' China T-Union cards are sold at over 7,000 Circle K convenience stores across the city as well as at customer service centers at seven MTR stations, namely Hung Hom, Lok Ma Chau, Sheung Shui, Fanling, Tsuen Wan, Kowloon Tong and Admiralty.

They are priced at HK$88 (US$11.3) without deposit, each card can hold up to HK$3,000 in stored value.

Card balances can also be managed via the Octopus mobile app.