ABA Banking Journal Home  Where's my Octopus?  Good ideas do not
have to be complex.  "Obvious to the most casual observer" is a
phrase I use quite frequently. The message has to do with de-
complicating our solutions. The bottom line: good ideas do not
have to be complex.  I travel a great deal.  One of the benefits
of travel is that I have the opportunity to experience and
observe many things.  Some things I like and some, well, you
know the answer.  There are also a few "ah ha" moments that
cause me to think of the possibilities.  Meet the Octopus  Not
long ago, Hong Kong had a tremendous problem. Their public
transit system relied on cash-in particular, coins. The bus and
trains all required the fare to be paid in cash. In comes
innovation, the Octopus Card, a reloadable stored value card
that could be used on the Hong Kong Transit system. The result,
the Octopus Card successfully replaced the need for cash and
saved the transit authority a tremendous amount money hauling
cash all around the system. Innova