On his official blog, Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced on Sunday, April 3, that the government will release the first half of this year's consumption vouchers from April 7. Over 6.3 million eligible residents will receive an e-voucher worth $5,000. Hongkongers will receive SMS notifications or mobile app push notifications on the disbursement day.
According to Chan, the vouchers will have an effectivity period of seven months until October 31, citing that the validity period is more extended than the last batch so citizens can have more flexibility. Those using AlipayHK, Tap & Go, or WeChat Pay HK as their registered stored value facility (SVF) will receive the $5,000 in one instalment. People who registered their consumption vouchers via Octopus can collect the first consumption voucher of $4,000 on April 7. If the cumulative total of 'eligible spending' has reached $4,000, people can collect the remaining $1,000 on the 16th of the following month.
The second half of the consumption voucher is expected to be launched in mid-2022, and eligible residents are required to reapply. Other electronic payment systems that did not participate in last year's scheme will be included in the second batch.
"We hope that distributing the consumption vouchers at the beginning of April could relieve the financial pressures faced by residents amid the coronavirus outbreak," Chan stated on his blog.
If you want to know more about the Consumption Voucher Scheme, plus all the best places you can spend them, visit this guide.
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