The electronic consumer coupons distributed in the middle of last year are coming to an end, but there has been news recently that the government may consider distributing consumer coupons again this year.
Therefore, in the Budget to be announced by the Financial Secretary, Paul Chan next month, whether consumer coupons will be distributed again has become the focus of attention again.
Some reports quoted sources that the government has recently made preliminary contacts with major stored-value payment operators through the HKMA and the Treasury Bureau. The source said that the government will retain some operators that participated in the distribution of consumer coupons last year, and plans to add new ones. operator.
▼2021.08.02 Coupon Program Secretariat ▼
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Finance Bureau: Dissenting opinions have been received and no decision has been made yet
According to sources quoted by the Hong Kong Economic Journal, the government has recently made preliminary contacts with major stored-value payment operators through the HKMA and the Treasury Bureau to understand their interest in and preparations for the next distribution of consumer coupons.
According to sources, the authorities will retain some operators that participated in the distribution of consumer coupons last year, and plan to join new operators.
"Hong Kong 01" today inquired about the situation with the government authorities and the four operators. Some responded that there was no information to disclose, and some did not respond.
The Treasury Bureau stated that the government is conducting public consultations on this year's Budget and collecting views from all walks of life.
So far, different opinions have been received on relevant issues. The government will take into account the social and economic situation, the impact of the repeated epidemics on society and people's livelihood, as well as the current financial situation, etc., and will make careful and comprehensive consideration.
At present, it has not been decided whether to distribute electronic consumer coupons again.
Chen Maobo will publish a new Budget on the 23rd of next month.
(File photo / Photo by Liang Pengwei)
Finance Secretary Chen Maobo also said in an interview with the newspaper that he is open to the distribution of consumer coupons.
The government will make a decision based on factors such as financial situation, social economy, promotion of electronic payment, and consumer sentiment.
"Many friends suggested that electronic consumption coupons should continue to be distributed in the next budget, but there are also objections, arguing that the amount involved is huge, and public resources should be used more targeted; The effect of consumer coupons is limited.”
Last year was unanimously in favor of distribution
According to politicians, unlike last year's situation, when the political circles were unanimously in favor of the distribution of electronic consumer coupons, this year, there have been dissenting voices, referring to "some voices who do not agree" with the New Democracy Party led by Ye Liu Shuyi, making the future of distribution unclear. .
Looking at previous reports, Ye Liu publicly opposed the government’s redistribution of electronic consumer coupons, believing that the effect on boosting the economy is limited, and funds should be set aside to deal with the possible continued epidemic, “The benefit is to encourage citizens to use electronic payment, but the main benefits are It's an Octopus."
According to reports, BOCHK is actively preparing to participate in the distribution of consumer coupons, which can be distributed through its BoC Pay platform.
However, upon checking the Register of Stored Value Facility Licensees, BOCHK was not on the list.
Fang Baoqiao, Honorary President of the Hong Kong Information Technology Chamber of Commerce, said that BOCHK holds a banking license and its operations cover stored value and payment, so it can also distribute consumer coupons.
PayMe, a payment platform owned by HSBC, has more than 2.5 million users in Hong Kong.
(file picture)
Fang Baoqiao estimates that Payme has a higher chance of "running out"
However, the reporter read the list of stored value facility licensees, and most of the registered companies are not the stored value facility commonly used by Hong Kong people. Only PayPal, TNG, and Payme under HSBC are more familiar to Hong Kong people.
Fang Baoqiao's analysis pointed out that Payme's voice was high last year, and the number of users was large; if the government distributes consumer coupons again, it is estimated that Payme has a higher chance of "running out".
"If they are willing to join, Payme will be a hot horse, and BoC Pay will be a dark horse."
However, the Secretary for the Treasury, Xu Zhengyu, said last year that payment tool operators consider popularity and convenience.
Some business people revealed to reporters that PayMe only accepts its commercial customers to join, which means that commercial customers of other banks cannot receive payments with PayMe, which makes PayMe's merchant penetration rate lower than that of other operators.
"Hong Kong 01" asked PayMe today whether it would consider participating in the distribution of consumer coupons. The spokesperson responded that PayMe is a market-leading e-wallet in Hong Kong with more than 2.5 million users and has always supported initiatives that will help develop e-payment in Hong Kong.
The biggest winner of consumer coupons last year was Octopus
In fact, the biggest winner of electronic consumer vouchers last year was Octopus. Chen Maobo once announced that 70% of the citizens chose Octopus; 20% chose AlipayHK; WeChat Pay HK and Tap & Go each accounted for about 5%.
If calculated by the number of 6,929,700 registrations, the order is 4,850,800, 1,385,900, and 346,500.
Fang Baoqiao hopes that the government can introduce more operators, so that Hong Kong's electronic payment will flourish.
And Shao Ka-fai, a Liberal Party Legislative Council member who has been calling on the government to send more consumer coupons, suggested that the government screen operators for conditions, including providing good services, being able to distribute discounts to the public, and having a certain market demand, "As long as the citizens want to use them, they will support them ."
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The first balance of users on platforms such as AlipayHK and Tap&Go will expire on January 1
