Observation #16: In my opinion, the greatest inventions ever created are usually the simplest. For example, I like toothpicks, matches, my battery operated hand-held milk frother (thanks, Vandi!), notepads with magnets on the back so I can stick them to the fridge and right up there with socks that don't bunch up around my toes is the Hong Kong Octopus card.
It started out in 1997 as a mass transit "contactless" card that we simply scan/touch to pay for public transportation around HK, but the Octopus card is easily the most ingenious smart card ever created because now you can use it and reload money on to it almost anywhere. To get started in the program, all you have to do is pay a $50 HKD deposit for the card at the MTR Customer Service counter and load increments of $50 or $100 on it either at the counter or at the thousands of self-service kiosks in the city. You can also load money on it at the places you shop. You can use if for purchases at the 7-Eleven, supermarkets, Starbucks, drug stores, McDonald's, the Star Ferry, museums, parking meters, vending machines and so much more. Some cabs even accept Octopus payments but with the start up costs and fees associated with each transaction, most cab drivers opt for cash only fares.
There are special "concession" rate cards that give discounts to students and senior citizens. Students can even use their cards at the school cafeteria eliminating the need to remember to send money to school everyday. Octopus Cards can also be registered online so you can load them via the internet, report them lost or stolen and convert the money stored on the lost card to a new card. Hong Kongers prefer using the Octopus card more than any other form of payment. Maybe that's why their debt to income ratio is much lower than Americans. Their motto is, "Go ahead and take my Visa card but you can have my Octopus card when you pry it from my cold, dead hand."
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