PayMe top-up limit lifts up to $50K

HSBC announced it will lift its e-payment app PayMe monthly top-up limit to HK$50,000, and allow customers to transfer money from their HSBC personal bank account to their PayMe e-wallet, effective as soon as this week.The current top-up limit for Payme is HK$5,000 per month from any credit card. From later this week, customers will be able to transfer up to HK$30,000 per month from their HSBC personal bank account to their PayMe e-wallet, or even HK$50,000 if they can provide a Hong Kong residential address.   With the expansion of the app’s purchase utility among merchants, HSBC PayMe is ready to compete directly with other mobile payment operators such as Octopus, Alipay, WeChat Pay or Apple Pay.“By enabling users to top-up their PayMe wallet from their HSBC bank account, we hope to provide our existing users with more choices and flexibility, as well as cater to customers who might not have a credit card,” said Greg Hingston, head of retail banking and wealth management of the Hong Kong office of HSBC.The bank claimed it will allow customers to transfer money from other personal bank accounts to top-up their PayMe wallet at later stage.Andrew Eldon, head of digital, retail banking and wealth management of Hong Kong at HSBC, said the bank will announce plans to allow PayMe to be used for purchase at merchants very soon. The system is likely to involve QR code technology, which is a common method for merchants to accept payment by mobile phone.“I am confident PayMe could give customers a great experience in making purchases in future,” he added.