Hong Kong finance chief says HK$5,000 vouchers can be spent at wet markets and restaurants, vows to prevent misuse
- A day after unveiling plan in his budget address, Paul Chan notes pandemic funds already in place to help market stalls upgrade to accept Octopus cards
- Government will also examine how to prevent fraud such as making purchases then returning merchandise for cash refunds
Hongkongers will be able to use the HK$5,000 (US$645) vouchers promised to them at the city’s wet markets and restaurants, the finance minister has said, while pledging to prevent abuse of a scheme designed to boost local consumption.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced in his annual budget address on Wednesday that every permanent resident or new immigrant aged 18 or above would receive the e-vouchers for local spending over five instalments, with registration hopefully to begin in the summer.
The government wanted to make the digital vouchers available to as many consumers and merchants as possible so they could be spent at wet markets, fast food outlets, restaurants, retail outlets and online shops, Chan told a radio show on Thursday.
Several residents who phoned in to the programme argued the vouchers would be impractical for low-income groups who preferred to buy cheaper goods from family-run shops and wet markets, many of which were not equipped to accept payments from digital wallets or stored-value cards such as Octopus.
The finance minister responded that government coronavirus subsidies were available to help wet market stalls set up cashless payments systems using Octopus.
