 |
| Some 20,000 Octopus card users are in danger of missing out on their first $3k vouchers |
The government has warned some 20,000 qualified Hong Kong residents to update their accounts on or before Wednesday, March 29, so they can receive the first installment of their consumptions vouchers through Octopus.
The 2023 first-installment vouchers for pandemic relief will be disbursed on April 16 to the stored value accounts of successful registrants using last year’s records.
Permanent residents aged 18 and above or new arrivals from the Mainland are due to receive $3,000 initially out of a total of $5,000 while foreign students and other residents who came in under various entry visa categories (except contract workers) will get an initial $1,500 out of $2,500 in total.
According to a press release issued by the government today, about 20,000 people who used Octopus to receive vouchers last year have returned the Octopus cards they used without updating their accounts for receiving vouchers.
Unless they update their accounts by the March 29 deadline they will not be able to get their initial voucher disbursements.
Those who need to update their accounts may do so online, by post or in person at any of the eight temporary centres listed below:
Hong Kong Island:
1.
34/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai (MTR Wan Chai Station Exit A5
/ MTR Exhibition Centre Station Exit B3)
2.
Unit 1301, AT Tower, 180 Electric Road, North Point (MTR Fortress Hill Station
Exit A)
Kowloon
3.
Units 1834 – 1838, 18/F, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Mong Kok (MTR Prince
Edward Station Exit B2)
4. Unit 1105, 11/F, Kwun Tong View, 410 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong (MTR Kwun Tong Station Exit A2)
New Territories
5.
9/F, Chinachem Tsuen Wan Plaza, 455 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan (Near MTR Tsuen
Wan West Station)
6.
Room 110, 1/F, Butterfly Bay Community Centre, 1 Wu Chui Road, Tuen Mun (LRT
Melody Garden Stop)
7.
Unit 2310, 23/F, Metropole Square, 2 On Yiu Street, Shek Mun, Sha Tin (MTR Shek
Mun Station Exit C)
8.
Conference Room, Tai Yuen Community Hall, Tai Yuen Estate, Tai Po (MTR Tai Po
Market Station, take shuttle bus K12 to the terminus)
(The temporary service centres will provide service from 9 am to 6 pm (Monday to Saturday) from March 11 to 29, 2023 and close on Sundays and public holidays. People may call the Scheme hotline 18 5000 to make appointments.)
Elderly
people who swapped their Octopus for a JoyYou card and have not updated their
accounts may call the Octopus hotline,
2969 5588 for help.
Those who have updated their records after surrendering their old Octopus cards or have retained their cards and kept it active may continue to use their original cards to receive the vouchers.
For more information, please check the 2023 Consumption Voucher Scheme here: (www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk) or call hotline 18 5000.
