Logos of several online payment services are seen on cardboard at a store in Hong Kong as the SAR government distributed the first installment of e-vouchers under the 2023 Consumption Voucher Scheme on April 16, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
Consumption voucher programs have made electronic payments more common in Hong Kong over the past three years, with individual and business accounts on electronic stored-value platforms increasing by over 13 million and 220,000 respectively, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday.
Chan made his remarks on Sunday at the same time as the second disbursement of this year’s consumption vouchers, which handed out HK$2,000 ($256.4) to eligible permanent residents and new arrivals aged 18 or above, following the HK$3,000 issued in April.
READ MORE: Hong Kong distributes second batch of consumption vouchers
People who are not permanent residents but who live in the city under various employment, study, and talent programs received HK$1,000 this time.
Chan also said that it is now the “golden time” for businesses to accelerate their digital operations so as to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase revenue
The finance chief said around 6.5 million people benefited from the latest installment by collecting the e-vouchers through six stored value facilities: AlipayHK, BoC Pay, Octopus, PayMe from HSBC, Tap & Go, or WeChat Pay HK.
According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the total transaction amount of stored value payment facilities in the first quarter of this year rose 25 percent year-on-year to HK$138.5 billion.
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The number of transactions exceeded 1.8 billion, with an average transaction amount of HK$77. Among them, the transaction volume of physical sales points increased by over 36 percent.
“All of these show that electronic payments have been more widely used in daily life,” Chan said, adding that the second disbursement of e-vouchers will inject an additional HK$13 billion into the retail and catering industries.
He also said that it is now the “golden time” for businesses to accelerate their digital operations so as to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase revenue.
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Last week, the Legislative Council approved a total allocation of over HK$700 million to officially launch the “Digital Transformation Support Pilot Program” and an incubation program for smart living start-ups, which were proposed in this year’s budget.
