Easy way to get rid of HKD and MOP?
 

For me, before I leave HK, I just put as much HKD into my Octopus card as possible before I leave. Unfortunately, it seems like I can only deposit HK$50/HK$100 at a time. I don't mind keeping a few bills, but I really want to get rid of my coins. Same goes for MOP. Any suggestions?

There's a commercial service with kiosks scattered about that lets you add coins to an Octopus card for a 10 percent fee.

Coin Dragon ??? | Hong Kong | FAQ

When I think of it, I try to unload coins at convenience stores and Mrs. Fields (I like cookies).

In Macau, I pay with HKD, and strive to provide exact change for all cash transactions. MOP is a kind of useless currency IMO.

When loading Octopus, I try to give enough bills and then pay the rest in coins. MOP is definitely useless, but hard to avoid in Macau.

How about slot machine (not now)?

Most airlines have donation envelopes for a good cause and accept any currency, coins or notes. Ask a crew member next time you are on board.

Side question - can you top up Octopus with a credit card?

No.

Sadly no. Maybe once they enable Apple Pay, it'll be possible!

​​​​​​How do you think they would handle the processing fees?

The way to get rid of coins is to spend them. This goes for every currency. If you manage your wallet properly you should never have more than $20 of HKD coins, unless some cash-only shop runs out of the right change and offloads lots of coins onto you.

The majority of cash-only shops price things in whole dollars. So you should never really get any cents in change as you can usually pay by card or octopus where things are priced in cents, except the odd 50c very occasionally. You can just overpay for a bus / tram if you don't have the exact amount and want to dump some coins.

Any 7-11 or Circle K would be happy to accept $50 in coins to load an Octopus. I have done it with $50 in 50c. The guy just pressed the button for $50 and said he would count it later. You can only load Octopodes in multiples of $50 so it doesn't help with getting rid of odd amounts.

If you happen to be in the area where the government's coin cart is located that week, you can load any amount of coins onto an Octopus. But the security guard will go through all the coins before putting them in a machine and will give you back anything which is dirty/stained/bent etc., which you are now unable to spend because people will notice and reject them, whereas if you spent one damaged coin alongside a lot of normal coins nobody would care.

During working hours, you can go to the basement of HSBC Headquarters in Central, or the basement of HSBC Building, 673 Nathan Rd, Mong Kok (next to MTR / corner of Argyle St). Those are the public cash services counters where you can exchange up to 500 coins to notes for free and also notes to other notes. They also exchange old coins, i.e. the 10-sided $5, big $1, silver 50c, big 10c and 5c. This service is meant to be free to HSBC customers only, but they don't even have computers there so cannot verify. They charge 2% for more than 500 coins (1% if you flash a card with an HSBC logo on it).


MOP is not a useless currency because it represents a 2.9% discount over HKD. If you decide to use HKD cash in Macau, you shouldn't ever touch any MOP because they give change in HKD. The only place I have found in Macau that returns MOP change even if you pay HKD is the HZMB shuttle bus counter. But they accept cards there so the problem shouldn't arise.

Anyway, MOP coins are not a problem because you can change exact amounts back to HKD at a currency exchange.

Maybe they can negotiate a massive discount with AMEX, Visa, and MC? Lots of cities around the world accept credit card for payment. It just feels weird that Hong Kong hasn't jumped on to the bandwagon.

That's awesome! I had no idea 7/11 or even Circle K can reload Octopus. Good to know!

Is there a fixed location or the vehicles move around the districts?



That's awesome. I don't have a HSBC HK account, but I do have a foreign HSBC account. I guess if they ever ask, I can waive my debit card since you said they have no computers down there.

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MOP is not a useless currency because it represents a 2.9% discount over HKD. If you decide to use HKD cash in Macau, you shouldn't ever touch any MOP because they give change in HKD. The only place I have found in Macau that returns MOP change even if you pay HKD is the HZMB shuttle bus counter. But they accept cards there so the problem shouldn't arise.

Anyway, MOP coins are not a problem because you can change exact amounts back to HKD at a currency exchange.

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You sure? I haven't been to Macau in about two years, but the last time I went, I would often get MOP back when I paid in HKD. They just treat HKD as 1:1 with MOP.

Not for 1-off top-ups but can link to credit card for recharge once it hits 0.

"Not for 1-off top-ups but can link to credit card for recharge once it hits 0."

But only locally-issued cards or local bank accounts can be linked. Called Automatic Add Value Service "AAVS."