Octopus Card for Tourists: Options, Deposit, Refunds and Where to Use It

One card for the MTR, trams, ferries and a snack on the way: which Octopus to get as a visitor and how to get your money back.

Facts checked 28 October 2026 against the sources listed below

What is an Octopus card?

Octopus is Hong Kong's stored-value payment card. You top it up, then tap it on a reader to pay. Octopus says it is accepted at nearly 190,000 points for public transport, dining, entertainment and shopping. For a visitor, it means no fumbling for coins on the tram and no queue for a ticket at every MTR station.

Octopus options for visitors

Prices from Octopus Cards Limited, checked on 28 October 2026. Octopus's own pages give different figures for the starting value loaded on an On-Loan card, so check the Octopus tourist page for the current amount.

Where you can use it

• MTR trains, including the Airport Express. You can also use it to enter the in-town check-in area. See our airport guide.
• The tram: tap as you get off at the front. See our tram guide.
• The Star Ferry: tap at the pier gates. See our Star Ferry guide.
• Shops and food: anywhere that shows the Octopus sign. Octopus lists dining among its uses, so look for the sign at the counter of a café, bakery or convenience store.

Small, family-run stalls in wet markets and at night markets may take cash only, so keep some Hong Kong dollars with you.

Topping up

• Cash: at any Octopus authorised add value service provider, up to HK$3,000.
• On a phone: Octopus on iPhone or Apple Watch tops up with a non-Hong Kong Mastercard, UnionPay or Visa card, the e-CNY App or Weixin Pay, through the Octopus App for Tourists.
• At zero: once the value is at or below HK$0, the card stops working until you add value.

Getting your money back

On-Loan Octopus. Before you fly home, take it to any MTR Customer Service Centre. The deposit is refunded if the card is in good condition. A handling fee of HK$11, or 1% of the remaining value if that is higher, applies if any of these is true:

• the card is returned within 90 days of issue;
• it has been used for five or fewer payments; or
• it holds more than HK$1,000.

A damaged or altered card costs HK$30. Balances under HK$1,000 are paid out on the spot.

Tourist Octopus (sold). The card's price is not refunded, but you can get the remaining value back at an MTR Customer Service Centre. The card then stops working.

Mobile Octopus. Ask for the refund in the Octopus App for Tourists. The money goes back to the card or wallet you topped up with.

Part of our Hong Kong guide, with the airport and tram guides.

Frequently asked questions