PayMe is enabling faster, simpler payments for OpenRice

Hong Kong’s leading food and beverage e-commerce platform, OpenRice, expanded in-app payment options for users via PayMe’s API integration.

Together, HSBC and OpenRice created a simpler, faster payment experience and extended OpenRice’s digital reach to PayMe’s 2.7 million users.

Founded 20 years ago as a website for rating and reviewing restaurants, OpenRice has grown to become Hong Kong SAR’s leading food and beverage e-commerce platform. They provide 4 million users the ability to make reservations, pay for meals, order takeaway and purchase dining vouchers from over 3,000 merchants in the territory.

As shown by the expansion of services on their platform over the past couple decades, delivering innovative new experiences to users and merchants has been key to OpenRice’s success. In line with this, they aimed to further enhance their user experience by harnessing the capabilities of new technology.

Growth of digital payments – Noting the growth in popularity of digital payment options such as e-wallets in HKSAR, OpenRice made expanding the number of options users had to pay for services a top priority. This would allow them to differentiate themselves in the market further by enhancing their in-app payment experience.

IT resourcing – OpenRice were also mindful of the costs and operational inefficiencies that would come with managing multiple integrations with various payment providers. As such, they sought an easily-integrated solution that could also enable them to reach new users.

With these goals in mind, OpenRice engaged HSBC to enable PayMe, HKSAR’s premier peer-to-peer payment application, as an additional way for users to pay for services. Through one simplified system integration via application programming interface (API), PayMe’s 2.7 million users now have the option of utilising balances in their wallets to pay for services on OpenRice. To do so, users simply select PayMe at checkout and authorise the transaction, allowing them to complete purchases on OpenRice’s website and application in just a matter of seconds.

As of April 2022, PayMe is available as an option for OpenRice users to pay on takeaway orders, dining vouchers and for tableside bill payments, with plans in place for further expansion to other services as HSBC and OpenRice continue their ongoing relationship.

Simplified integration via API allows OpenRice to expand the payment options on their platform at significantly reduced cost and effort.

Enhanced customer experience by allowing faster and more convenient ways for users to pay.

OpenRice is better placed to deepen their market penetration in a rapidly-digitising landscape by allowing PayMe’s 2.7 million users to use their e-wallet balances to pay for services.

The API integration is designed to be scalable, providing OpenRice an easy avenue of allowing PayMe to be offered as a payment option for future services on their platform.

SVF Licence Number: SVFB002