Octopus Cards Limited

This article is about the company. For the card it produces and supports, see Octopus card.

Octopus Cards Limited

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Payment systems
Predecessor	None
Founded	Hong Kong (1994 (1994))
Headquarters	Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Area served	Hong Kong, Shenzhen and other major Chinese cities
Key people	Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong (CEO)
Products	Octopus card
Services	Smart card payment systems
Owner	Major transport operators in Hong Kong
Number of employees	200
Parent	Octopus Holdings Limited
Website	www.octopus.com.hk

Octopus Cards Limited (Chinese: 八達通卡有限公司) is the operator of the Octopus rechargeable contactless smart card used in an electronic payment system in Hong Kong.

Octopus Cards Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Octopus Holdings Limited. Established in 1994 under the name of "Creative Star" by the major transportation companies in Hong Kong, Octopus Cards Limited is the operator of the Octopus System and the issuer of Octopus.

The Octopus card was introduced in 1997 with the aim of providing a simple way to pay fares on public transport in Hong Kong. Octopus then extended its reach into simple micropayments for purchases in retail outlets and a simple way for cardholders to gain access to buildings and schools and to identify themselves. In January 2002, it was renamed Octopus Cards Limited from Creative Star. Prompted by the business expansion of the Octopus card, Octopus Holdings Limited was formed in 2005 after a company restructure and Octopus Cards Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new company. Today, over 440 service providers accept Octopus, and new uses are regularly being added.

Octopus' popularity in Hong Kong declined in the mid-2010s due to the rise of mobile payment methods.