Page 36 - Sphere No.9 (Sep 2003)

SPHERE
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E - C O M M E R C E
seriously integrating e-government and
e-commerce, and the only major
‘government-to-citizen’ e-government
system operated by a private company.”
E-CONVENIENCE
Operationally, the portal is linked not only
through the Internet but also through a
network of Internet kiosks scattered
around railway stations, shopping malls
and PARKnSHOP supermarkets.
The e-government facility today
enables bilingual access to over 170
government services from 52 departments
and public agencies. As well as filing tax
returns, renewing vehicle licences and
booking sports facilities, you can arrange
your wedding day, check public exam
results, apply for a building permit or
register as a voter, to mention but a few.
Of particular use to the public has been
the “Easy Change of Address” service,
which was launched in May this year. It
allows the public to notify more than 10
government departments as well as several
business organisations to update their
information all in one go. The service
symbolises ESDlife ’s vision to link
government and commercial services and
provide one-stop services to citizens.
In another initiative that will make life
more convenient, since August this year
the public has been able to make an
appointment for the replacement of their
old ID with a Smart ID card, which every
Hong Kong citizen will need to do.
EXCEPTION TO THE RULE
Compared with the US, Hong Kong’s
attitude towards e-activity of any sort has
been lukewarm. But the public’s response
to ESDlife’s e-services has proven the
exception to the rule.Within one year of
service launch, 85% of Hong Kong’s
advance marriage appointments were
booked online. So were 30% of the two
million bookings annually for sports
facilities such as tennis courts and
football pitches – a chore that
alternatively involves turning up
personally at the venue.
Currently, more than 180,000 such
transactions are conducted every month,
or 6,000 a day, and half involve a cash
transaction.
Transactions are made by credit or
debit card while the “Octopus” card can
also be used at ESDkiosks to pay for
certain commercial services.
RAPID GROWTH
Just a year ago, payment-related
transactions were running at slightly over
20,000 a month; today, they have surged
by four times to reach 80,000. ESDlife is
now among the top Hong Kong
websites, processing the highest number
of online cash transactions.
“These figures indicate fast-growing
public confidence in the principle of
e-commerce,” notes Tony. “A lot of
people thought e-commerce was dead,
that the bubble had burst. This was an
aspect we had to overcome. Success
depends on the application and the
business model. We’ve shown that the
Hong Kong public are willing to
conduct business online – but the
advantages must be explained.
‘E-suspicion’ is eroding by the day,
although not across every age group. Our
impact is much more powerful with
weddings and sports than, for example,
Senior Citizen Card application forms.
It’s the user group. These activities are
relevant to the 25-35 years olds who are
our major users.They are young enough
to be computer literate and old enough
to have jobs and credit cards.”
The market’s gender breakdown is also
interesting.While on average more men
purchase goods online, women are
generally the first to buy a newly
launched product over the Internet.
E- COMMERCE
Although the top priority from the
beginning was to get government
The public can use the ESDlife website to book government sports facilities
as well as to buy sports equipment online.