More and more merchants are accepting contactless payment nowadays, including Visa payWave, Mastercard PayPass, UnionPay QuickPass; and mobile payments such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay as well. These merchants come from different categories ranging from supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores, restaurants, fast food shops, food markets, boutiques, beauty and personal care retailers to cinemas that take care of our daily lives. So why not pick a contactless credit card and enjoy its benefits in your everyday shopping!
Table of Contents: Contactless Payment Credit Cards
- Contactless Payment Credit Cards Recommendations
- BOC SOGO Visa Card: 5% Cash Rebate on Mobile Payment
- BOC Dual Currency Card: 4% Rebates with BoC Pay and Other Mobile Payment
- BEA i-Titanium Card: 4% Cashback on Mobile Payments
- EarnMORE UnionPay Card from Everbright: 2% cashback on mobile payments
- Citi Rewards Credit Card
- CCB (Asia) eye Credit Card: Higher Point Limit (5X)
- BOC: i-Card (New Application Suspended)
- What is Tap-To-Pay?
- How to Prevent Data Leakage
- MTR Accepts Contactless Payment Cards on Dec 23, 2024
- Frequently Asked Questions: Contactless Credit Cards
- Related Articles
Contactless Payment Credit Card Recommendations
We’re about to dive into which card gives you the best bang for your buck when you’re using Apple Pay/Google Pay/Samsung Pay/contactless payment!
When it comes to mobile payment, this category is super versatile. Once you’ve popped a card into your smartphone Wallet, any shop that accepts contactless payments could be your ticket to major rewards! From clothes and shoes to anything you fancy! Just take a peek at the table below and then scroll down for the nitty-gritty on each “Tap-and-Go” credit cards recommended by MoneySmart Hong Kong:
| Contactless Payment Credit Cards Recommendations | |
| Credit Card | Contactless Payment Reward |
| BOC SOGO Visa Card | 5.4% cashback |
| BOC Dual Currency Card | 4% cashback |
| BEA i-Titanium Card | 4% cashback |
| EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card | 2% cashback |
| CCB(Asia)eye Card | HK$3/mile or 2% cashback |
| Citi Rewards Credit Card | HK$3/mile or 1.85% rebate |
BOC SOGO Visa Card: 5% Cash Rebate on Mobile Payment
The BOC SOGO Visa Card is a credit card that provides an additional 5% cash rebate on mobile payments. This cashback offer is not limited to SOGO merchants, but it also applies to other merchants outside the department store.
Benefits:
- Extra 5% cash rebate for mobile payment
- Welcome offer of up to HK$500 SOGO eGift Certificate or 10% Cash Rebate for Mobile Spending: Make retail transactions through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay (Maximum HK$300 Cash Rebate)
- First year annual fee waiver for BOC Sogo Visa Card.
BOC Dual Currency Card: 4% Rebates with BoC Pay and Other Mobile Payment
Do you always travel between Hong Kong and Mainland China but still feel a bit hesitant about using Alipay?
BOC Dual Currency Card sounds like a promising alternative for you! Enjoy 4% rebates by paying with BoC Pay and other mobile payments like QuickPass APP, Apple Pay or Huawei Pay within this year. You could earn a maximum of HK$100 rebates per month with monthly spending of HK$2,500 or above. Although BoC Pay is not as prevalent as Visa payWave or Mastercard Contactless in Hong Kong, it is widely accepted by restaurant groups, convenient stores, and supermarket chains.
Benefits:
- Tap-and-Go to ride the Guangzhou Metro
- “DiDi” App and “Ctrip” App for purchasing high-speed train tickets accept Apple Pay
- 3 times complimentary access to Hong Kong International Airport and Macau International Airport Plaza Premium Lounge per year (booking required)
- No handling fee for overseas and local transactions
- Permanent annual fee waiver for primary and supplementary cards
BEA i-Titanium Card: 4% Cashback on Mobile Payments
With the BEA i-Titanium card, you can accumulate a monthly spending of HK$2,000 and earn an additional 3.6% i-Dollar cashback on mobile payments or e-wallet transactions through platforms like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Cloud Flash Payment QR codes.
This can provide you up to an extra $300 i-Dollar per month. Also, if you make payments at local bakeries, fast-food restaurants, specialty coffee shops, and for transportation, you can earn up to 12% cashback, with a monthly cap of HK$100. This offer is valid until June 30, 2024.
Benefits:
- 4% cashback on mobile payments
- 4% cashback on online shopping
EarnMORE UnionPay Card from Everbright: 2% cashback on mobile payments
- Min. Annual Salary
- HK$0
- Cash back on overseas spend
- 2%
- Cash back on local spend
- 2%
【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer】Want to get extra $200 vouchers from MoneySmart? From now until 31 December 2024, new customers who successfully applied for EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card via MoneySmart, can enjoy 2,000 SmartPoints without further spending! Use your SmartPoints to redeem vouchers of your choice worth HK$200 in the Rewards Store(over 20+ brand vouchers including Apple / Wellcome/ HKTVmall etc)!. Click here for more details. T&C applied. (fulfilled by MoneySmart)
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[PrimeCredit x MoneySmart] From now until December 31, new customers of PrimeCredit Credit Card who successfully applyss EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card through MoneySmart and earn extra HK$100 cash rebate + Welcome offer: HK$670 cash rebate (included the extra up to 2% cash rebate) Or OTO Vanda 2.0 massage chair (VN-05) (Suggested price: HK$13,800) Or German Pool Smart Air Purifier Fan (EFB-426HM-SC) (Suggested price: HK$2,480) Or Up to HK$90K Interest-free and Handling Fee-free Cash Instalment Program or Tertiary Student: HK$400 Klook e-Gift Card (**Extra reward will be fulfilled by PrimeCredit)
The EarnMORE UnionPay Card from Prime Credit offers 2% cashback on all local and overseas transactions. You can also earn a 2% cashback by adding the card to Apple Pay or UnionPay QuickPass for transactions. During the promotional period of this year, the extra 1% from the 2% cashback is capped at HK$1,500. This means you can make transactions up to HK$150,000 to earn the maximum cashback.
Benefits:
- 2% cashback on local transactions, overseas transactions, and online shopping
- No handling fee for overseas transactions in foreign currencies
- 3-month interest-free installment (offer valid until March 31, 2024)
- After spending HK$12,000 in two consecutive calendar months, you can enjoy 3 times LoungeKey airport lounge service with friends and family (offer valid until April 30, 2024)
CCB (Asia) eye Credit Card: 5X Point Rewards (2% Cash Back)
5X bonus points might not sound as appealing as the 10X Reward Gift Points that come with the BOC i-card. But things might appear differently if you take the points cap into consideration as well (You can earn a 2% rebate or 1 mile for each HK$3 spent!)
eye Credit Card has a much higher cap than that of the i-card. Therefore, why not enjoy the benefits to the fullest by using your eye Credit Card as an alternative when you have reached the point limit of your i-card? With the eye Credit Card, you could earn 300,000 points at maximum per year, or 25,000 points per month with monthly spending of HK$6,250. Noted that the cap we referred to works for both the contactless payment and online payment.
Benefits:
- 5X bonus points for online transactions
- HK$3/mile
- Customized card face design upon application
- 2X bonus points for overseas and travel spending by joining Instant Travel Club
Citi Rewards Credit Card: Higher Limit for 5x Points on Contactless Payments
- Minimum Income Requirements
- HK$120,000
- Rebate on Shopping & Entertainment Transactions
- 3%
- Rebate for all local Mobile Payments
- 1%
Extended!【🔥Exclusive Rewards Return with a BANG: Up to HK$3,399】
From now until 23 December 2024, New Customers who successfully applied for a designated Citi credit card via MoneySmart with an eligible spending of HK$4,000 after card issuance, can enjoy one of the exclusive rewards:
・[⚡️Limited-time Upgrade Offer!] HK$1,800 Apple Store Gift Card / PARKnSHOP Supermarket Voucher or
・BERMAS Spaceship Luggage 2.0 Suitcase (29inch) (Value: HK$3,399) or
・Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 In-ear True Wireless earbuds (Value: HK$3,380) or
・De'Longhi ECOV311 Icona Vintage Series Pump-driven Espresso Coffee Machine (Value: HK$3,288) or
・YA-MAN HRF-10T RF Beauté Photo PLUS (Value: HK$3,180)!
Citi Rewards Credit Card offers 5x points for mobile payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay), including 1x basic points, 2x points for contactless payments, and an additional 2x points (until June 30, 2024); Mastercard contactless payments can get double points. You can earn up to an additional 50,000 points per month, that is, you can earn the maximum by spending HK$12,500 on contactless payments per month.
Benefits:
- Points are valid indefinitely
- Can be redeemed for miles in multiple frequent flyer programs
- First-year annual fee waiver
BOC: i-Card (New Application Suspended)
(BOC: i-Card has no longer received new application.)
BOC i-card offers relatively lower rebates, which unfortunately, a fact we can’t deny. But you could improve your return with this card by paying with mobile apps. Earn 10X, or 10,000 Reward Gift Points at maximum per month; by using Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay, WeChat Pay and other forms of contactless payment. To put it in another way, you could enjoy a favorable rate of HK$1.5=1 Asia Miles or 4% rebates with a monthly spending of HK$1,112 or above.
Benefits:
- 10X Reward Gift Points for online transactions
- HK$500/HK$200 Free Spending Credit or 80,000 Reward Gift Points as welcoming gifts
- Permanent annual fee waiver for primary and supplementary cards
- Open to tertiary students
- Visit here to apply!
What is Tap-To-Pay?
The main types of credit cards now include Visa and Mastercard, both of which have their tap-to-pay technology, allowing credit card holders to tap on the sensor, without the need to swipe the card or sign, to complete the transaction.
Tap-to-pay generally has a monetary limit, such as Visa payWave’s payment limit in Hong Kong is HK$1,000. If the transaction exceeds this amount, it may require a signature or PIN confirmation. Similarly, the Mastercard contactless (formerly known as PayPass) function, generally can handle transactions of HK$1,000 or less.
If you want to know whether your credit card can be used for tap-to-pay, just look at whether there is a symbol similar to the wifi receiving signal, that is, the contactless symbol, on your credit card. If there is, it means that your credit card can be used for tap-to-pay. If the merchant where you make transactions also has a corresponding sensor, you can tap to transact there.
How to Prevent Data Leakage
Paywave and Paypass may seem risky, but with proper preventive measures, contactless credit cards can make transactions faster and more convenient! To prevent credit card data leakage, pay attention to the following 4 points:
Protect your card with a metal sleeve
The phone can read data within a range of 2cm to 10cm from the credit card. However, if you put the front of the credit card inward and place it in a deeper position in your handbag or wallet, you can prevent data theft. If you want to be absolutely safe, you can add an RFID blocking card sleeve to block the NFC function, and only take out the credit card when making payment.
Regularly review account transactions
Because the use of payWave and PayPass features allows users to make payments instantly without signing, everyone should pay more attention to their account transaction records. If there are any unknown transactions, notify the bank immediately for follow-up. Some banks like Bank of China and DBS will send SMS to customers after the transaction is completed. Remember to register a valid phone number with the bank to receive related SMS.
Beware of scam calls
After obtaining credit card information through apps, criminals may use this information to make online purchases on less secure shopping websites for profits. However, they may also use the credit card information to impersonate bank employees and conduct larger-scale frauds. So in case you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the bank or credit card center, be extra vigilant.
Lower credit card limit
Insurance industry experts point out that under insurance terms, personal insurance mainly involves card theft, and in this type of situation, it is difficult to prove how the data leaked and may be difficult to get compensation. Therefore, we suggest that when applying for and using credit cards with payWave and PayPass, you can lower the credit card limit. In case the data is stolen, it can minimize potential losses.
MTR Accepts Contactless Payment Cards on Dec 23, 2024
Starting from December 23, 2023 (Saturday), all train lines, except the Airport Express, will allow passengers to use either physical or mobile contactless payment cards for entry and exit. Initially, only Visa cards will be accepted for the first three quarters, but from the second half of 2024, Mastercard and UnionPay cards will also be accepted.
The systems at all customer service centers have also been upgraded to handle electronic payment ticket issues, and to allow passengers to purchase monthly passes, city tickets, and various souvenirs using various electronic payment methods.
Frequently Asked Questions: Contactless Credit Cards
What is the limit for payWave?
You can use Visa contactless credit cards for transactions up to HK$1,000 at global merchants with payWave sensors, without signing a receipt.
What is Contactless Payment?
Contactless payment is a secure method for consumers to purchase products or services using a debit, credit, smartcards, or another payment device by using RFID technology or near-field communication (NFC).
What are some examples of contactless payment credit cards?
Some examples of contactless payment credit cards are BOC SOGO Visa Card, BOC Dual Currency Card, and CCB (Asia) eye Credit Card.
What is the BOC SOGO Visa Card?
The BOC SOGO Visa Card is a credit card that provides an additional 5% cash rebate on mobile payments. This cashback offer is not limited to SOGO merchants, but it also applies to other merchants outside the department store.
What is the limit for payWave?
You can use Visa contactless credit cards for transactions up to HK$1,000 at global merchants with payWave sensors, without signing a receipt.
How can I prevent data leakage?
To prevent credit card data leakage, pay attention to the following points: protect your card with a metal sleeve, regularly review account transactions, beware of scam calls, and lower your credit card limit.
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