New arrivals refers to residents holding valid Hong Kong ID cards who have come from mainland China under one-way permits or are dependants of permanent residents with permission to stay in the city.

Individuals who have come to the city through various talent and work admission schemes, or to study, will receive vouchers worth HK$2,500. They will receive their second instalment of HK$1,000 from July 16, with a first instalment of HK$1,500 released from April 16.

Non-permanent residents with valid permission to remain in Hong Kong who do not fall under the above categories will be eligible for HK$2,500.

But Hongkongers who have emigrated are ineligible. Officials said “objective criteria” would be used to determine if residents fell into that category, such as whether they had been out of the city for 36 straight months, withdrawn their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) or had their Hong Kong ID card issued overseas.

Ricky Chong Kwok-man, principal assistant secretary for financial services and the treasury, has revealed that some 170,000 out of 240,000 people who were disqualified last year from claiming vouchers had successfully appealed.

They were thought to have moved elsewhere after being found to have taken out their MPF, but had subsequently returned to the city, he said.

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2. How will they be distributed?

Unlike the first instalment, residents can choose to change payment platforms to collect their vouchers.

The six payment platform providers enrolled in the scheme are Octopus, Bank of China’s BoC Pay, HSBC’s PayMe, AlipayHK, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK.

AlipayHK is owned by Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.

Residents will not need to register again if their platform accounts are still valid or accessible. Those with invalid accounts had a March 29 deadline to update their registration records.

Those using Octopus cards for the handouts need to have spent HK$3,000 or HK$1,500 – the first instalment of the vouchers – by June 30 to receive their second round on July 16. For those failing to hit the mark, their next handout will come on the 16th day of the month after they fulfil the requirement.

This arrangement for Octopus card users will be valid until October 31, when the first instalment of consumption vouchers expire.

3. Who needs to take action ahead of the coming round?

Newly eligible applicants, such as those who turned 18 on Monday or before, need to sign up for their handout, as well as those wishing to switch payment platforms.

Such individuals can apply on the website of the consumption voucher scheme or at nine temporary service centres citywide from June 5 to 27.

Those who have just become eligible for the handout will first receive HK$3,000 or HK$1,500 from July 16, before getting the remaining portion from October 16.

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4. Will the vouchers expire?

The first round will expire on October 31 for residents using any payment platform except Octopus. The second instalment will remain valid until February 29 next year for those operators.

The second instalment will be automatically transferred to existing accounts on July 16. Residents using Octopus will have to collect their vouchers by June 30 next year.

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5. Where can people spend them?

Similar to the previous round, the latest instalment can be used at local retail, catering and service outlets, or online platforms that accept payments by any of the six service providers.

Examples include retail shops, market stalls, department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, fast food outlets, coffee shops, recreational facilities, beauty salons and public transport.

However, the vouchers cannot be cashed out or used for payments such as settling taxes, fines, licence fees, tunnel fees, parking meters and public utilities bills. Finance minister Chan has warned residents not to cash in their vouchers, saying police have found about 80 companies involved in such activities since the scheme was first introduced in 2021, with five arrests made.

The Post has earlier found that offers to trade consumption vouchers for cash have continued to appear on social media and online retail platforms despite the government’s warning of potential legal consequences.

The vouchers also cannot be used for payments to public organisations including the Hospital Authority and Housing Authority or to cover education expenses, purchase financial products and services or to make donations.

Direct purchases from merchants located outside Hong Kong as well as person-to-person payments are not allowed.

6. Will they stimulate the local economy?

The consumption voucher scheme was first rolled out in 2021, with eligible residents each receiving e-coupons worth HK$5,000.

Under the city’s fifth coronavirus wave last year, the amount was doubled to HK$10,000 to spur spending and stimulate the local economy.

But the value of the latest round has been halved to HK$5,000, with Chan explaining during his budget speech that the amount was the most the government could offer given the city’s tough economic situation and the authorities’ financial position.

The government estimated the e-vouchers would boost the city’s gross domestic product by 0.6 per cent.

But Professor Terence Chong Tai-leung, of the department of economics at Chinese University, said the new round of vouchers would not have a significant impact on the local economy, as he predicted that many people would spend the money on travelling overseas rather than patronising local businesses.

“The impact will not be as big as that of the last two rounds,” he said.

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Chong said the vouchers were more aimed at boosting people’s spirits than a sole initiative to stimulate consumption.

Economist Andy Kwan Cheuk-chiu, director of the ACE Centre for Business and Economic Research, said the vouchers would encourage people to spend money when local consumption had already increased following the full reopening of the border with the mainland.

But he also agreed vouchers alone would not be able to bolster Hong Kong’s economic recovery.

He urged the government to do more to boost tourism as well as the “night economy”, referring to businesses that rely on customers eating, drinking and seeking out entertainment in the evening. Such establishments, he said, had been hit hard by the pandemic and required attention as the government looks to revive the local economy.

This story has been updated with the latest details about the new round of digital vouchers.