The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) released the inaugural AlipayHK Smart Payment Popularity Index on Wednesday, which reports an overall index at 53.9, representing that mobile payment is gradually getting off the ground in the city.

Various smart payment tools are struggling to penetrate Hong Kong's retail market, which has been dominated by cash and the Octopus Card for a very long time. But retailers and customers are still unfamiliar with the operation of smart payment and concerned about their personal data security, according to the HKPC surveyed data.

To fully evaluate the popularity of smart payment from the perspective of retailers and consumers, the index is comprised of two subindices: Retailer Smart Payment Readiness Level and Consumer Smart Payment Acceptance Level. HKPC conducted telephone interviews with 428 retailers and 1,049 Hong Kong residents aged 15 to 64.

The retailer subindex is 62.2, bigger than the customer subindex at 45.5 and the overall index, which indicates that business owners have a stronger perception about promoting mobile payment channels. Now, AlipayHK has more than 20,000 retail collaborators covering all the basic necessities of life to provide new payment exposure to Hong Kong residents and visitors.

The customer subindex is lower than expected. About 44 percent of the respondents have mobile payment experience or are willing to adopt this tool. Meanwhile, in terms of the perceived advantages of mobile payment, quick transaction was cited by 55 percent, convenient transfer with acquaintances by 53 percent, and no coins by 50 percent.

However, more than half the respondents regarded the operation unfamiliarity and personal information security as two key hindrances for the wider usage of mobile payment.

"The survey found that a lack of understanding toward in-app operation is the main reason for nonusage," Alipay Payment Service Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Tan said in the index release conference. "As our merchant and user base grows, we hope an increase in familiarity via our e-wallet will help resolve public misunderstanding toward mobile payment in general."

Both retailers and customers urged for the government's official support and endorsement of related mobile payment tools, given 53 percent of surveyed customers and 62 percent of surveyed retailers believe that government should be a major participant in making Hong Kong a "Smarter Payment City".

Hong Kong people could already pay electricity bills and telecommunication fees online through the AlipayHK online platform because of its cooperation with Hong Kong Electric and many telecommunication providers.

Wilson Wong, general manager of information technology from HKPC, said, "The misinterpretation that customers have a low demand for new payment methods has deterred retailers from investment, which in turn hinders smart city development in Hong Kong." So he advised retailers to provide their customers with additional means of payment while building a firm digital foundation in preparation for e-commerce and mobile commerce, as he thinks the entry barriers for some openly available mobile payment models are relatively low.

joycesun@chinadailyhk.com