「嘟！」 不論是穿過港鐵車站閘機，抑或於商店付賬，熟悉的響聲代表著港人慣以為常的高效和方便。引領香港電子付款業先驅八達通集團穩步前進的，是公司行政總裁張耀堂(Sunny)，他亦是領展可持續發展委員會成員。

Sunny說：「現時香港市面有約3,000萬張八達通卡流通，香港能夠保持快速的步伐，有賴於瞬息間處理每宗交易。縱使科技讓我們可以透過手機提供服務，膠卡因易用且生產成本低，將繼續是以相宜價格廣泛推廣服務的重要渠道，並且有助推動社區可持續發展。」

八達通及領展兩者都跟公眾緊密互動，運作較易受外界的關注。Sunny於零售銀行及支付業務經驗豐富，其精闢見解有助企業駕馭現今具挑戰的商業環境，回應對企業公民責任日益提升的期望及迅速科技發展。

Sunny表示：「領展對我們的電子付款給予支持，不但優化停車場的出入管控，還令鮮活市場的顧客再不用以貨幣交易，享受超級市場一般的方便。領展透過支持租戶營商、減少能源消耗、提倡剩食回收，多年來積極推動可持續發展。」

「香港企業面對的重要挑戰之一，在於企業公民責任經常跟價格議題掛鈎，價格調升往往疑為賺取過高利潤。藉著擴闊市場分眾，為顧客提供更廣泛的服務選擇，有助釋除有關疑慮。為此，領展一直優化商場服務及拉闊商戶組合，更好滿足不斷擴展的顧客群。」

精於化危為機的Sunny，亦樂於分享心得，他說：「有謂『防患未然』，企業需要建立企業文化，以鼓勵前線員工對危機徵兆有敏銳觸覺，及早識別並且向管理層呈報，以助化險為夷。」

Sunny亦談及影響商界的科技趨勢。「香港人口稠密，人們較多愛光顧實體店舖。未來網上及實體店將會並存共生，互補不足，透過服務整合，為購物者提供更佳體驗。社交媒體既是與持分者溝通的新平台，亦為名聲管理帶來挑戰。企業把握新媒體帶來的機會時，亦需要了解網民思考及溝通方式，適應注重互動及分享的文化。」

“Dood.” The familiar sound we hear when we pass through the MTR ticket gate or make a purchase using an Octopus card is perhaps the most noticeable reminder of the convenience and efficiency we have grown so used to. Guiding the company that is at the forefront of the e‑payment business in Hong Kong is Sunny Cheung, CEO of Octopus Cards Limited, and also a member of Link’s Sustainability Advisory Committee.

“With 30 million Octopus cards currently in issue, we are keeping Hong Kong on the move by ensuring that each payment transaction is processed instantaneously,” Sunny explained. “While technology has enabled our services to be delivered through smartphones, plastic cards, which are easy to use and economical to produce, remain a key part of our efforts to make our services available widely and inexpensively, and advance community sustainability.”

Both Octopus and Link are businesses that interact with and are closely watched by the general public. As a business leader with profound experience in retail banking and e‑payment services, Sunny’s insights are invaluable to organisations navigating their way in today’s challenging business environment, which is characterised by rising expectations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and rapid technological advancement.

“With Link’s support of our electronic payment services, access control for its car parks has been streamlined, and shoppers at its market stalls can now enjoy the same convenience of cashless payment offered by supermarkets. Link has done a lot over the years to carry out social responsibilities in terms of helping small retailers grow their business, reducing energy consumption and water use, and promoting food recycling.” he noted.

“A major challenge facing Hong Kong enterprises is that CSR is often linked to pricing issues, and fare increases often raise mercenary concerns. Widening service offerings through market segmentation to cater to customers of varied needs is a way to address this. To this end, Link has been working to enhance services and broaden the retail choices at its shopping centres to better serve a growing base of shoppers.”

A leader skilled in crisis management, Sunny said, “As prevention is always better than cure, companies need to foster a culture in which frontline staff members have the sensitivity to identify issues that are symptomatic of bigger risks, and the courage to bring them to the management’s attention.”

Commenting on popular technological trends impacting business, Sunny said, “Hong Kong being a compact city, people tend and prefer to patronise physical stores. Going forward, instead of one displacing the other, online and physical stores are likely to coexist and cross over to give better experiences and value to shoppers. On a related note, while social media can offer new ways to engage stakeholders, it poses new risks in reputation management. When tapping this new medium, businesses need to learn about how netizens think and communicate, and they need to be ready to embrace a sharing culture and a more interactive tone.”