July 18, 2023
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government distributed on Sunday the second instalment of e-vouchers under the 2023 Consumption Voucher Scheme.
E-vouchers worth up to HK$2,000 ($226) were disbursed to city residents through their accounts with AlipayHK, BoC Pay, PayMe from HSBC, Tap & Go, WeChat Pay HK or their Octopus card, according to a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government statement.
Existing eligible persons who are permanent residents and new arrivals received e-vouchers worth HK$2,000 ($226) while those who came here through different admission programs or to study got HK$1,000.
Among new eligible registrants, permanent residents or those newly arrived received HK$3,000 while those studying or those who came here under different admission programs got HK$1,500. These two groups will get their second instalment on Oct 16.
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For existing eligible registrants who decided to use Octopus to get both instalments, they should have spent the first instalment of HK$3,000 disbursed on April 16 by June 30 for them to get the second instalment.
For those who received their e-vouchers via AlipayHK, BoC Pay, PayMe from HSBC, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK today, the second instalment will expire on Feb 29, 2024. Those who chose Octopus should note that the voucher collection deadline is on June 30, 2024.
A government spokesman reminded the public and merchants that consumption vouchers cannot be used for purposes other than local consumption.
The HKSAR government will closely monitor the usage of the e-vouchers and take appropriate action, including referring cases to law enforcement agencies for follow-up, against those who abuse the system, he added.
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The second handout is expected to inject HK$13 billion into the market, consolidating Hong Kong’s economic recovery, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said earlier.