Consumption vouchers: retailers, e-payment service providers offer promotions worth billions to entice Hongkongers ahead of roll-out
- Second and final batch of HK$5,000 in consumption e-vouchers to be distributed from August 7
- Sun Hung Kai Properties to spend HK$10 million for promotional activities, while Octopus, BoC Pay and AlipayHK to offer rewards to new joiners
Retailers and e-payment service providers in Hong Kong are putting up billions of dollars worth of offers and promotions to entice residents to spend the government’s latest consumption vouchers, including lotteries and exclusive opportunities to meet celebrities backstage.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Monday unveiled details of the long-awaited second round of handouts worth HK$5,000 (US$637). The government expanded the eligibility criteria to include an extra 300,000 people, many of them foreign talents, entrepreneurs and students, pushing up the cost of the scheme by HK$1.7 billion to HK$68.1 billion.
The six e-payment service providers involved in the scheme are AlipayHK, Bank of China’s BoC Pay, HSBC’s PayMe, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK. AlipayHK is operated by Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.
Cash rewards by the city’s biggest e-payment provider, Octopus Cards, amounted to more than HK$250 million. Customers can receive up to HK$200 by spending a certain amount with Octopus, while new customers are eligible for an extra HK$30.
Consumers using Octopus to pay can also enjoy a 10 per cent discount in shops and restaurants in 12 MTR shopping malls, while commuters who purchase a three-month KMB bus pass can receive a bonus month worth HK$780.
In face of strong competition among e-payment service providers, Rita Li Yuk-yi, the company’s sales and marketing director said on Tuesday: “We are happy that there is more competition, because seeing competition drives us to do better.”
More than 70 per cent of residents eligible for the handout previously selected Octopus as their preferred platform to collect the vouchers.
AlipayHK has announced promotions worth HK$3 billion, with existing users of the platform receiving a HK$210 reward, while new customers will get an extra HK$25.