PayMe

For the American silent drama film, see Pay Me!
PayMe
Developer(s)HSBC
Initial release8 February 2017; 7 years ago (2017-02-08)
Operating systemiOS, Android
Available inEnglish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
TypeMobile payment
Websitepayme.hsbc.com.hk

PayMe (officially known as PayMe from HSBC) is a mobile payment service from HSBC, currently available only for Hong Kong users with local phone numbers and banks. Users can pay businesses, transfer money to one another using a mobile app, linked to their credit card or (any local) bank account.[1]

As of Nov 2022, the service had around 2.9 million active users, out of a Hong Kong population of 7.3 million, with a market share of 50%.[2]

History

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On its launch on 8 February 2017, heavy traffic meant that some users were unable to register, leading to media dubbing the service "Play Me".[3][4] Topping up was only possible from a Visa or Mastercard credit card, with a limit of HK$10,000 per month.[3]

In April 2018, the app won the FinTech Grand Award in the official Hong Kong ICT Awards.[5][6]

From June 2018, users were able to link to a local bank account,[7] with monthly top-up limits raised to HK$30,000, or HK$50,000 with a verified residential address.[8][9] At the same time, PayMe launched an online shopping payment service, in collaboration with HKTVmall.[10]

In July 2019, PayMe introduced the support of FPS (Faster Payment System) for transfer and top-up, along with a complete redesign of the app.[11] At the same time, PayMe lowered the top-up limit for credit cards to HK$2,000 per month.[12]

In May 2022, PayMe was selected to be one of the eligible electronic platforms for the consumption voucher scheme.[13]

Features

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PayMe was introduced as a standalone mobile app, offering P2P social payment.[14] Users register via a Facebook account or Hong Kong mobile phone number and authorise access to a credit card or local bank account (not necessarily an HSBC account), from which the balance can be topped up, and a bank account to receive money.

There are no transaction fees.

When the PayMe account balance is too low to make a given transaction, the app automatically withdraws the necessary funds from the registered bank account or card.[15]

The social networking interaction component allows users to send and request money and split bills with others, similarly to Venmo in the United States.[16] When the user makes a transaction, the details are posted on the social timeline, and available for other users to see, subject to privacy settings.

The app encourages users to add friends, by searching for available contacts in the app. If a user makes a transaction to a non-PayMe user, a sharable payment link is created that can be distributed through social media such as WhatsApp.[17] When the user opens the link, they can choose to collect the money by inputting their bank account, or receive it by creating a new PayMe account.[1]

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PayMe is referenced in the 2021 movie "All U need is love" (總是有愛在隔離), where - at around the 30 minutes mark - the character played by Julian Cheung asks another hotel guest to pay him "Lai See" (red packet money) to join the triad, only to be asked in return if he takes PayMe instead.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Fund transfers made easy as HSBC rolls out P2P app". The Standard. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  2. ^ "金融峰會｜祈耀年：PayMe用戶290萬 佔一半市場" (in Chinese).
  3. ^ a b "Pay me? Play me!". EJ Insight. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  4. ^ "HSBC's social payment app faces launch troubles". Marketing Interactive. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  5. ^ "Payments app takes two prizes | News and insight | HSBC Holdings plc". HSBC.com. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  6. ^ "Local ICT achievements commended at Hong Kong ICT Awards 2018 (with photos)". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  7. ^ "You can now top up your PayMe up to HKD30,000!". PayMe from HSBC | What's New. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  8. ^ "HSBC strikes back in mobile payment war, lifts PayMe top-up to HK$50K". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  9. ^ "HSBC e-payment app raises top-up limit to HK$50,000". The Standard. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  10. ^ "HSBC joins the fray for online payments with TV shopping service". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  11. ^ 區慶威 (2019-07-29). "PayMe加轉數快FPS功能 信用卡增值竟減至2000蚊【積分無著數】". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  12. ^ Yuen, Simon (2019-07-30). "HSBC's PayMe app adds tools but reduces credit card top-up limit". Marketing Interactive. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  13. ^ "消費券將新增PayMe及BoC Pay 並續使用現有4間支付商" (in Chinese).
  14. ^ "HSBC to launch new mobile P2P payment platform in the 'next few days'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  15. ^ "HSBC joins rush to launch peer payment app". China Daily Asia. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  16. ^ "HSBC targets Hong Kong millennials with new social payment app". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  17. ^ "HSBC Introduces a social P2P payment app to Hong Kong" (PDF). HSBC. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
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