There’s flashy news on digital currency. In a recent attempt to try out the country’s new Digital Currency Electronic Payment, the People’s Bank of China issued a batch of digital currency totaling 10 million yuan (US$1.49 million) to 50,000 residents of Shenzhen, selected randomly via a lottery.

It certainly sounds fanciful. On a related note, there was news over a month ago about additional government funds, under the Hong Kong SAR government’s third-round Anti-epidemic Fund, to support retailers in the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s wet markets to install an electronic payment system. In the meantime, Alipay and Octopus Pay, both non-cash payment systems, have also been busy promoting their services among small businesses; for example, by providing waterproofing and Bluetooth-connected payment devices. Octopus customers can now use its app to scan and pay for taxi fees in Hong Kong.

Evidently, as the city remains on constant alert over the ill effects of a lingering pandemic, there have been calls for a safer method of conducting monetary transactions, especially since experts discovered that the virus can live on the surface of notes or coins, or be transmitted through touching. In one sense, the pandemic might be a solid reason for Hong Kong to accelerate its shift to digital, contactless payments.

This reminded me of an embarrassing money moment that happened not long ago when I returned from overseas. I got a taxi, and when I arrived at my destination, the driver wouldn’t accept anything but cash — no credit card, no WeChat Pay nor Alipay. With no notes in my pocket, I had to leave him idling there while I found an ATM nearby. After that lesson, I never failed to keep some cash on me, no matter where. It seemed that digital pay just isn’t all the rage. 

This, by the way, is in stark contrast with cities on the mainland, whether it’s the Shanghai metropolitan area or a less-developed region in a western province. People are increasingly carrying their phones around, rather than cash. Now, “Please scan the QR code” or “Can I scan your code?” seem to be the things one hears most often in shops. Imagine what that’s going to do to women’s purses, even as a fashion item. Not to put too fine a point on it, but even the shabbiest of breakfast food stalls are using digital pay. You might even be discriminated against if you try to use cash, with a shop owner, for example, frowning at you and disdainfully saying that he or she no longer has any change.

In Hong Kong, it’s quite another story. Only certain convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores and some restaurants accept electronic payments. You rarely expect to have to scan a QR code to pay in a wet market or family-run grocery store. The Octopus Card, a real card, can be used for buses or paying for groceries in some stores. There can be a downside: If you lose it, there is no way to invalidate the card or replace it unless one has an account with the company and it is linked to a bank account or you have a personalized card.

Why has Hong Kong, a technologically advanced mega city, been slow with its cashless society? There could be many reasons. Some argue that the city may be more reserved or cautious in taking on newly emerging forms of payment, considering the possible risks involved, or that it is so deeply traditional in its way of doing business. 

There may be some grounds for this, as the Security Bureau’s newly released statistics show digital fraud showing a sharp rise here. At the same time, however, security methods for digital payments have been increasing, with passcodes and identity-check methods.

The instant, fast, and convenient digital payments may not have beguiled Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents, but COVID-19 has certainly given them a reason to ease into the new method. The risks of virus transmission have increased people’s nervousness about cash, and more small businesses have jumped on the bandwagon by accepting a range of clever payments, including bank apps, Apple Wallet, WeChat Pay, Alipay — all helping, by the way, to boost sales.

After all, it may represent a safer way for monetary exchanges for the future of Hong Kong, even if digital currency is not exactly within reach for everyone now. It’s hard to say, but maybe it’s a good start.

The author is a Hong Kong-based journalist.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.