Several residents told The Macau Post Daily in the Avenida de Horta e Costa neighbourhood yesterday that they were confused about the government’s new voucher scheme.
A 23-year-old female resident, named Victoria, said that it would take a lot of calculation to figure out how many vouchers one would receive after purchasing a meal and how many vouchers can be used at one meal.
Victoria wondered, for example, if she had a 400-pataca meal, how many vouchers would she receive, and how many vouchers could she use. More importantly, she added, if she and her friends were splitting the bill, how could they also split the vouchers.
Another 23-year-old female resident, named Candice, also said that she was confused by the policy. She questioned how a young child would benefit from the scheme. She added that the child would have to have his or her own mobile phone and, if so, the child would also need his or her own bank account to be verified on the eight electronic payment platforms.
An around 50-year-old woman, surnamed Kan, also told The Macau Post Daily that the new voucher system was “complicated”. She said that it would take time for her to adapt to the system. She also said that she would prefer a new subsidy consumption smartcard scheme over the voucher scheme.
Kan also said that the voucher being only valid for 15 days could not motivate her to go shopping just to use it. She said she would only spend when needed and would only use the vouchers if she remembered.
A man in his fifties, surnamed Liu, said that he does not have the time to sit down and grasp the whole scheme but he has a general idea about it. He said that the government should not offer a financial benefit scheme that requires one to spend money first. He also said that he is usually a saver and won’t use the vouchers until the last minute. Therefore, he added, he may not be able to use up all the vouchers within 15 days.
During the vox pop, two male residents in their twenties said that they weren’t aware of the new voucher scheme.
‘Easy & convenient’: DSEDT
The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) said in a statement yesterday that the new voucher scheme will be “easy and convenient”. The statement said that the new voucher system benefits residents, non-resident workers and non-local students’ every-day consumption habits.
According to the statement, the city currently has over one million e-payment accounts, adding that around 767,000 accounts have been verified by the authorities. The bureau anticipates that after the launch of the voucher scheme more people will be joining the city’s e-payment system.
The statement gave an example that if a person spends 50 patacas at a local shop and pays through one of the e-payment platforms with a verified account, he or she will receive 50 patacas worth of digital vouchers. The statement pointed out that the voucher will be separated into five 10-pataca vouchers, adding that for 100 patacas people will receive ten 10-pataca vouchers and so on and so forth.
The statement said that residents can use a 10-pataca voucher for every 30 patacas spent via e-payment platforms on their next purchase. The statement added that residents can use the vouchers together, for example, by using two 10-pataca vouchers when purchasing items costing at least 60 patacas, or use them separately, on their next purchase. The statement stressed that the respective voucher is only valid for 15 days.
Moreover, the statement also said that the bureau and the Consumer Council would continue to monitor the prices of items in different retail shops. The statement said that the bureau staff checked 7,768 shops and compared prices among 47,310 goods and followed-up on abnormal price-surge cases that were detailed on the internet.
The statement underlined that the point of launching the voucher scheme is to keep local small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in business. The government also urged shops to cooperate with the voucher scheme and stabilise goods’ prices in order to create an effective and sustainable internal circulation.
This undated handout photo provided by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) in January shows its staff member setting up a “Simple Pay” device at a local shop.
