April 17, 2023
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Sunday distributed the first instalment of e-vouchers under the 2023 Consumption Voucher Scheme to 6.4 million city residents.
E-vouchers worth HK$3,000 ($382) were disbursed to permanent residents and new arrivals through their accounts with AlipayHK, BoC Pay, PayMe from HSBC, Tap & Go, WeChat Pay HK or their Octopus card.
Eligible persons who have come to live in Hong Kong through different admission programs for talents, professionals and entrepreneurs, and those who are in the city to study, were also given a HK$1,500 voucher.
Those using Octopus can get their e-vouchers by tapping their registered cards at Subsidy Collection Points under the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme at MTR stations, Light Rail Customer Service Centres, designated piers and public transport interchanges.
At the Tsuen Wan MTR station, an MTR staff member assisted residents who lined up to collect their e-voucher at a subsidy collection point.
Residents can also get their vouchers at all outlets of 7-Eleven, Circle K, Wellcome, Market Place by Jasons, Market Place, 3hreesixty and Jasons ichiba.
Due to the stored value limit of Octopus cards, those who are not able to collect the full amount can get the remaining value after spending the initial amount their received.
The HKSAR government earlier announced that it was distributing up to HK$5,000 in e-vouchers this year and the second instalment–HK$2,000 for residents and HK$1,000 for those in the city under different admission programs–will be disbursed starting July 16.
Both the first and second batch of e-vouchers will be valid for six months after disbursement. The government estimates that 100,000 non-Hong Kong residents will benefit from the program.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po earlier said that the SAR government decided to give away e-vouchers to support local consumption and consolidate the city’s economic recovery.
After the vouchers were first distributed in 2022, online sales in Hong Kong grew by 67 percent compared to two years earlier, with a total value of HK$34 billion.
“Since the launch of the program, the six online payment companies have posted an increase of 10 million payment accounts and 190,000 business accounts,” Chan said.