The Government today announced that four Stored Value Facility (SVF) operators have been selected to assist in implementing the consumption voucher scheme.

The selected SVFs, AlipayHK, Octopus, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK, currently cover a network of some 30,000 to 100,000 merchants in the local retail, food and beverage and service industries.

The Government said it is discussing the arrangements with the operators, including system design, detailed procedures, etc, and will announce the scheme’s details as soon as possible. The target is to commence registration during the summer vacation.

It explained that the operators have agreed to waive, as far as practicable, relevant fees for the installation and usage of payment devices by local merchants and the administrative fees for processing payments made with the consumption vouchers.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced in the 2021-22 Budget that electronic consumption vouchers with a total value of $5,000 will be disbursed in instalments to each eligible Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrival aged 18 or above, so as to stimulate people's consumption sentiment and boost local consumption, with a view to accelerating economic recovery.

Mr Chan said: “When identifying the SVF operators, the Government has taken into consideration a basket of factors, including the popularity, ease of use, and coverage of merchants of the SVFs, the operator's relevant experience and supporting facilities, the preparation time required, etc. The Monetary Authority has also been consulted.

“We believe that the general public can select a suitable SVF from the above list in light of their own needs to receive and use the consumption vouchers.”

Mr Chan added that the selected SVF operators will give back the additional income generated from the consumption vouchers to merchants or consumers by various means and will also organise different promotional events to encourage consumption.