Starting at 9 a.m. today, residents who chose to receive their start-up fund via one of the eight local e-payment platforms will automatically get the 5,000 pataca amount paid into their accounts, while the consumption smartcard users can get their fund at one of the 176 top-up spots, a statement by the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) and Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) said yesterday.
According to the statement, over 416,000 residents were signed up for the electronic consumption benefits plan by yesterday morning, of whom about 178,000 residents chose the e-wallet option while the remaining 238,000 chose to top up their consumption smartcard from last year.
E-payment platform auto-deposit
The statement said that if residents registered before May 20 and chose to receive the fund via their e-wallets, AMCM will send them a message at 9 a.m. today to confirm that the fund has been deposited automatically into their accounts. The statement added that once residents receive the message, they should check the balance on their e-wallet accounts. The statement also said that for those who registered after May 20, it will take two working days to verify the accounts and the residents will also receive confirmation messages regarding the auto-deposit of the start-up fund.
The statement pointed out that those who are transferring the credits (both the start-up fund and immediate discount grant) to their parents or guardians’ account, the latter need to hand in the authorisation form to AMCM starting today for verification.
Those aged 12 to 17 who would like to receive the fund in their personal accounts can register at selected locations along with their parents or guardians’ permission form. The authorisation and permission forms can be found at https://www.amcm.gov.mo/static/econsumption/mobilepaymentguide_zh.html.
Consumption smartcard top-up
According to the statement, those who chose to top up their consumption smartcard from last year and had registered before May 20 can receive the fund at one of the 176 top-up spots. The statement said that those who used their consumption cards as a regular Macau Pass can only top up their cards after they clear their balance to zero.
The statement pointed out that those who signed up after May 20 can top up their cards after two working days. However, the statement stressed that on the first day there may be many people topping up their cards, so the bureau urged residents to go to less crowded top-up spots or top up their cards at a later time or date.
The statement said that those who need to collect a new card, whether because they lost their card or never received one before, they need to visit one of the selected outlets starting today in person to collect their new card.
Meanwhile, the statement added, for those who are collecting a new card for another person must take the applicant’s and authorised person’s hardcopies of their Macau ID cards (BIR) along with the authorisation forms to the selected outlets to collect their new card.
Residents can start to use their start-up funds from June 1.
The statement said that for more information, residents can visit https://www.dsedt.gov.mo/2021consumo.
This screenshot of a DSEDT/AMCM video yesterday aims to show residents how to top up their consumption smartcard.
