Hong Kong Octopus Card: Buying, Top-Ups and Refunds
For a Hong Kong visit, choose an Octopus by separating three amounts: the card price, any refundable deposit and the balance you can spend. A Tourist Octopus sold for HK$39 starts with no balance. A standard adult On-Loan Octopus currently requires HK$200: HK$50 deposit plus HK$150 stored value. Mobile Octopus has its own setup and refund rules.
Octopus is a rechargeable payment medium, not an unlimited travel pass. It can pay individual fares and purchases at participating businesses. This guide covers buying, topping up, using and closing a tourist's card or eligible mobile version; prices and procedures were checked on 25 October 2026.
Choose a physical or mobile Octopus first
A physical card is straightforward if you want to top up with cash and keep payment independent of your phone. An eligible iPhone or Apple Watch can hold a mobile Octopus and use the Octopus App for Tourists for supported overseas payment methods. Do not assume that installing an app on any NFC Android phone creates the same travel card.
Choose a separate travel medium for each person who needs one, with the correct passenger category. The card will not select your destinations, reserve attractions or turn its stored value into a sightseeing package. First decide how you will pay; then check actual journeys and keep enough balance for the day.
To organise the visits themselves, try RoadMe: it creates a complete personalised day-by-day plan around your interests, dates and pace, making trip preparation more convenient. Check transport fares and Octopus payment separately for the places you choose.
| Option | Card or deposit | Spendable value at issue |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist Octopus, sold version | HK$39 non-refundable card price; no deposit | None in the basic product |
| Tourist Octopus – China T-Union, sold version | HK$42 non-refundable card price; no deposit | None in the basic retail product; bundles differ |
| Standard adult On-Loan Octopus | HK$50 refundable deposit, subject to applicable fees | HK$150; total initial payment HK$200 |
| New Octopus through the tourist iPhone app | HK$50 deposit | Minimum initial value HK$100; eligible payment required |
Where to buy: airport products differ from city products
Standard On-Loan cards are issued at many MTR Customer Service Centres, but the operator's current distribution list excludes Airport Station and several other stations. Do not arrive expecting every MTR counter to sell every Octopus version. Check the product and sales point before joining a queue.
For the basic HK$39 Tourist Octopus, the issuer currently lists Hung Fook Tong stores. Tourist Octopus – China T-Union has a broader retail list, including 7-Eleven and Circle K, with the available passenger categories depending on the retailer. A shop that accepts Octopus is not automatically a seller of all card types.
At the MTR Customer Service Centre at Airport Station, except the centre on Platform 1, the issuer lists an adult Tourist Octopus – China T-Union package for HK$170. That comprises a HK$42 card and HK$128 stored value. It is a different breakdown from both a bare HK$42 retail card and the HK$200 standard adult On-Loan product.
Before paying, identify the card version, passenger category, included balance and what happens on refund. Keep the receipt and make sure the amount loaded is correct. With an advance booking through a reseller, also check collection location, hours and the exact package rather than borrowing the conditions of another outlet.
Top up a physical card with cash
Cash top-ups are available at participating retailers such as 7-Eleven and Circle K and through designated transport service points and machines. The issuer specifies reloads in multiples of HK$50 for adult and child cards. At MTR add-value and ticket machines, the listed accepted banknotes are HK$50 and HK$100.
Take the card out, tell the cashier you want an Octopus top-up and state the amount in Hong Kong dollars. Follow the reader instructions and check the resulting balance. Keep the card in place until the operation finishes rather than repeatedly lifting and retapping it.
A store accepting a credit card for groceries does not establish that it will take that card to top up Octopus. Cash reload and a retail purchase are different transactions. Keep usable Hong Kong dollar cash for this purpose unless your particular digital top-up route is already confirmed.
Load a practical amount for the next part of the trip, then add more as needed. Fares depend on journeys and purchases also reduce the balance. There is no single “three-day amount” that fits someone walking mainly around one neighbourhood and someone making multiple longer trips.
Using Octopus on transport and in shops
On the MTR, present the same Octopus at entry and exit. Keep it accessible throughout the journey and wait for the reader's confirmation before moving. Do not present a wallet containing several cards together: the operator warns against placing two cards on the fare reader at once.
If a gate rejects the card, wait for the indication to finish and try the correct reader again; if it still fails, ask station staff. Do not follow another traveller through or change to a different card halfway through a recorded journey. A receipt showing a top-up does not itself replace a successful travel validation.
For ordinary buses, fare payment is generally made on boarding. Other modes and services have their own procedure; do not apply the MTR gate routine to every vehicle. Light Rail, for example, has entry and exit fare processors even though the layout differs from a gated metro station.
In a shop, confirm the amount and the Octopus acceptance mark, then tap when asked and check the balance. Octopus is widely used for small purchases but is not a promise that every merchant, taxi or service accepts it. Keep a suitable alternative payment method.
The system was launched in September 1997 to make payment across different transport modes easier, without repeatedly finding exact change. That background explains why the same stored-value medium is useful beyond one railway line. It does not make all journeys free after the first payment.
See our guide to public transport tickets and validation abroad for the wider distinction between buying a product and using it correctly.
iPhone and Apple Watch: use the tourist payment route
The tourist service currently lists iPhone X or later and Apple Watch Series 3 or later, with the latest operating system. A new card through the Octopus App for Tourists requires at least HK$100 initial stored value plus a HK$50 deposit. Check compatibility and payment eligibility before relying on this as your only option.
The app supports specified non-Hong Kong-issued Mastercard, UnionPay and Visa credit or debit cards through Apple Pay, and a supported non-Hong Kong-issued Mastercard can also be linked through the tourist app. Acceptance still depends on the actual card and payment route; a familiar network logo alone does not establish that your bank's card will work.
Use the published tourist-app instructions for an overseas payment card rather than assuming direct setup in Apple Wallet has identical funding conditions. Keep internet available for setup and top-ups, and check the selected charging currency and any conversion information before confirming.
Transferring an eligible physical card is different from adding a new one. The issuer permits transfer of anonymous adult and elder On-Loan physical cards; it does not say every sold Tourist card or child card can be transferred. After a successful transfer, the old physical card is disabled.
A mobile Octopus is not a spare copy that two people can use simultaneously on a phone and the old plastic. Plan each person's travel medium accordingly, and preserve the account access needed for later management and refund.
Android and Huawei: check the exact supported version
Android is not one uniform Octopus setup. The issuer's tourist choice page describes Huawei Wallet Octopus for eligible Huawei phones and accounts registered in the Chinese Mainland, Macao or Singapore. Those region and device conditions matter; do not assume another handset becomes compatible because it has NFC.
There are other Octopus products and local payment arrangements, but they are not automatically suitable for an international visitor. Match the official requirements to your device, account region and available funding method. If they do not fit, a physical card with cash top-ups is a practical option.
Children and concessionary categories
The standard Child Octopus is for ages 3–11 inclusive. The current On-Loan product lists HK$50 deposit and HK$50 initial stored value for that version. A child card should be assigned to an eligible child rather than passed to an adult because it happens to have balance left.
Senior, student and other concession schemes need their own checks. The existence of an Elder card does not mean every concession or resident subsidy is available to every visitor on every service. MTR, for example, requires appropriate registered status for several specific concession categories.
Refund a physical card before leaving
For a functioning physical card with remaining value below HK$1,000, the issuer lists an immediate refund at an MTR Customer Service Centre. With HK$1,000 or more, processing is required and the company says it will notify you of arrangements within nine working days. The threshold refers to remaining stored value, not the original amount you loaded.
For an On-Loan card, the refund includes the deposit and remaining value, with applicable charges deducted. The handling fee is HK$11 or 1% of remaining value, whichever is higher, if any of these conditions applies: return within 90 days of issue; remaining value exceeds HK$1,000; or no more than five qualifying payment transactions since issue, excluding bill payments and donations.
Notice the different boundary: HK$1,000 exactly needs processing, while the balance-related fee condition says more than HK$1,000. Other fee conditions can still apply. Simply keeping a card for over 90 days does not remove every possible charge.
For a sold Tourist Octopus, including the China T-Union version, the card price is not refunded. The remaining balance can be refunded, but the card is then deactivated and cannot be used again. Keeping the plastic as a souvenir is different from keeping a reusable travel card after closing it.
Plan the refund before the final airport rush and check the service point's operating arrangements. If the card is damaged, altered or not functioning normally, separate processing and charges may apply. Do not assume the ordinary immediate-refund procedure still fits.
Mobile refunds do not follow the physical cash-counter process
For an iPhone or Apple Watch card funded through the tourist service, request the refund in Octopus App for Tourists under Card Setting and Refund Card. The issuer says the deposit and remaining value return to the payment accounts used for top-ups, subject to the applicable conditions.
The stated processing time is six to eight weeks, rather than cash handed over at an MTR counter. A HK$11 handling charge applies when refunding within 90 days of issue. Additional limits can depend on funding method and payment history; read the app's eligibility information before assuming a particular amount can be refunded immediately.
If a refund request is unavailable, contact the issuer through its official support channel instead of repeatedly deleting and recreating cards. Keep access to the original payment account. Deleting a card from a wallet and completing the issuer's refund procedure should not be treated as interchangeable actions.
China T-Union is a particular product, not every Octopus
The Tourist Octopus – China T-Union version can also pay participating public transport in the Chinese Mainland and Macao where the reader has the China T-Union mark. That does not turn an ordinary Octopus into a universal mainland payment card, or provide unrestricted shopping acceptance outside Hong Kong.
The product deducts Hong Kong dollar value using its stored conversion rate for eligible transport payments. The issuer says this rate includes a transaction fee, is refreshed on top-up and has a 365-day validity period. Before a later cross-boundary visit, check both available value and the rate's validity.
For choosing what to explore, RoadMe can build a personal trip plan around your interests and preferred pace, so the days fit together more conveniently than an unstructured list of places. Use the resulting sightseeing plan alongside the operators' current payment and transport information.
A practical card routine for your stay
Before the first journey, confirm the version, passenger category and spendable balance. Keep the card separate from other contactless cards when tapping. Check the remaining amount after longer journeys or shopping, and top up before it becomes a problem at a busy entrance.
Look after the physical card: avoid bending it, adding stickers or carrying it where it will be damaged. A normal anonymous card without eligible registration is not covered by the same lost-card service as a personalised, linked or qualifying automatic-top-up card. Do not rely on automatic balance recovery after a loss.
For choosing the places between those journeys, our guide to Hong Kong neighbourhoods for a first visit helps narrow the programme. Payment is easier to manage when you know which districts and outings actually belong in your holiday.
Before departure, decide whether to keep the card active for another trip or close it under the correct refund procedure. Check the last journeys first, avoid unnecessarily large final top-ups and retain the relevant receipts. Card cost, deposit and balance are separate throughout the process; keeping that distinction clear prevents most purchase and refund misunderstandings.
