A Government spokesman said that today (September 1) the Government had disbursed via the four stored value facility (SVF) operators the first $2,000 consumption voucher to about 810 000 eligible people who had completed electronic registration on or after July 18 or submitted paper forms during the registration period (i.e. July 4 to August 14). These people will successively receive SMS notifications or mobile app push notifications on the disbursement today.
Together with the about 5.5 million people who were disbursed with the first voucher on August 1, the Government had disbursed the first consumption voucher to a total of about 6.3 million people.
For people who chose to collect the vouchers via AlipayHK, Tap & Go or WeChat Pay HK, the $2,000 vouchers have been directly injected into their specified SVF accounts, which will be separated from the existing e-wallet in the account. When making payment, they only need to open the app and choose whether to use the vouchers, and then pay as usual.
Those who chose to collect the vouchers via Octopus cards may collect the $2,000 voucher by tapping the card at the Subsidy Collection Points of the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme at MTR stations, Light Rail Customer Service Centres, designated piers and public transport interchanges; designated convenience stores and supermarkets; Octopus Service Points; or via Octopus app within three months from today. The voucher will be combined with the value stored in the Octopus card. People can use the Octopus cards to pay as usual. If the relevant payments fall within the usage scope of the consumption vouchers, they will automatically be counted towards the total "eligible spending", and hence the vouchers will automatically be used.
The consumption vouchers have a wide coverage. In general, the vouchers can be used at local retail, catering and service outlets or their online platforms which accept payments by the four designated SVFs, such as retail shops, market stalls, department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, fast food shops, coffee shops, recreational facilities, beauty salons and public transport, etc. However, the vouchers could not be used for the following transaction items:
- payments to the Government (e.g. tax, fines, licence fees, tunnel fees, parking meters)
- payments to public utilities (i.e. water, electricity and gas)
- payments to public organisations (e.g. Hospital Authority, Hong Kong Housing Authority, Hong Kong Housing Society)
- education expenses (i.e. payments to primary and secondary schools providing local and non-local curriculum, and UGC-funded universities)
- purchase of financial products or services (e.g. insurance)
- donation (including charitable, religious and political organisations)
- direct purchases from merchants located outside Hong Kong (including online purchases through non-local online platforms made locally)
- person to person payments
- encashment
The spokesman reiterated that if merchants accept payments through any of the four SVFs under the Scheme, they cannot reject the use of consumption vouchers through that facility or impose additional fees.
The public may browse the apps and websites or call the following hotlines of the relevant SVF operators to enquire about how to use the vouchers, the value of the vouchers disbursed, unspent/uncollected voucher balance, expiry dates, etc.
AlipayHK: 2245 3201
Octopus: 2969 5500
Tap & Go: 2888 0000
WeChat Pay HK: 3929 1666
If registrants who have completed electronic registration or submitted paper registration forms during the registration period but have not yet received the SMS notifications on their registration results, they may enquire about their registration status through the interactive voice response system of the hotline 18 5000. In addition, the Government is processing the registrations resubmitted from August 16 to 31 under the special arrangement announced on August 15, and a small number of registrations submitted during the registration period which took a longer time to process due to different reasons. After the eligibility of these registrants has been verified, the first consumption voucher will be disbursed to them on October 1.
The Government spokesman reminded the public again that the Government and its contractors will only send SMS notifications relating to the Scheme through designated telephone numbers to communicate with the registrants, and will not ask the registrants to provide personal information by telephone. The relevant designated telephone numbers are listed in the Scheme website (www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk). The public should beware of phishing emails, online scams and telephone scams.
The public may visit the Scheme website or call the hotline 18 5000 for enquiries if they have any questions about the Scheme.
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