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Coronavirus pandemic
Hong KongHong Kong economy

Exclusive | HK$5,000 vouchers: Hong Kong consumer watchdog warns shoppers to beware of ‘early-bird offers’

  • Check that merchants accept shoppers’ chosen payment systems before buying, consumer chief says
  • As economy revives, more complaints expected from online shopping, beauty, fitness businesses

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Hong Kong’s long-awaited HK$5,000 consumption voucher scheme opened for registration on July 4. Photo: Felix Wong
Denise Tsang
As Hong Kong businesses eye their slice of the government’s HK$36 billion voucher scheme to encourage spending, the city’s consumer watchdog has warned shoppers to read the fine print before grabbing early-bird offers popping up everywhere.
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The Consumer Council received a handful of complaints last month, before Hongkongers started registering on July 4 for their HK$5,000 (US$640) electronic vouchers.

“We had consumer complaints even before the scheme began, because of a wave of early-bird offers from supermarkets, telecoms and beauty businesses,” council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han told the Post.

“Consumers can easily get confused by all the offers and should take extra care in choosing payment system service providers and deals.”

As of July 9, about 4.5 million people or some 62 per cent of 7.2 million eligible residents had registered for their e-vouchers, which the government hopes will speed up the city’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
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All residents and recent migrants from mainland China aged 18 and above are eligible for HK$5,000 worth of e-vouchers in two or three instalments beginning on August 1.

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