Offers to cash in Hong Kong consumption vouchers continue to appear on online platforms, despite government warning

Offers to cash in consumption vouchers continued to appear on social media and online retail platforms, even after the Hong Kong government warned of potential criminal consequences for those engaging in such activities after the launch of the first round of the latest scheme.

Listings featuring encashment opportunities to shoppers were rampant on various services such as Carousell and Facebook Marketplace after the first round of the HK$5,000 (US$637) e-vouchers was disbursed on Sunday.

Many of the posts could still be seen on Tuesday morning, a day after the government cautioned sellers and customers against “colluding” to “encash consumption vouchers through unlawful means”.

A government spokesman said stored value facility operators had frozen or cancelled the accounts of 50 sellers over suspected illegal activity related to encashment since authorities introduced the consumption voucher scheme in 2021. Some of these cases were passed on to law enforcement agencies for further investigation, he added.

To investigate the listings, a Post reporter reached out to a seller offering cash for vouchers on Carousell, who said transactions could be conducted in person or online and suggested downloading the app for HKTVmall, a shopping website which accepted Octopus, AlipayHK, WeChat Pay HK and BoC Pay – four of the six payment platforms taking part in the voucher scheme. The other two are HSBC’s Payme and Tap & Go.

Hongkongers lap up spending vouchers, but HK$5,000 not enough for some

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

The reporter was then told to buy a placeholder product listed by the seller for HK$3,000, with the offer of receiving 95 per cent of the amount in the form of cash or electronic payment via Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System. The remaining 5 per cent would be kept by the seller as a fee.

A Carousell spokeswoman said listings offering opportunities to cash-in on vouchers were removed and the company had taken action to filter out such posts.

“We take a serious view on the sale of prohibited items, which includes reselling or encashment of government-issued consumption vouchers,” she said.

The spokesperson urged users to report such offers to the company.

The government has asked payment platforms involved in the e-voucher scheme to monitor transactions for any suspicious activities.

WeChat Pay HK said vouchers on its platform could only be used for local retail, catering and service outlets.

“We have an existing mechanism to issue warnings to merchants involved, and reserve the rights to terminate related payment services to merchants for repeated malpractice,” the company said.

Authorities introduced the spending sweeteners to boost the local economy. Under the latest iteration of the scheme, eligible permanent residents and new arrivals received the first instalment of HK$3,000 on Sunday, while international students and professionals who came to the city through various admission schemes can get HK$1,500 out of the total of HK$2,500 being offered to them.

Hongkongers lap up spending vouchers, but HK$5,000 not enough for some

The remaining amounts will be dolled out from July 16 onwards.

According to Joshua Allen Chu Kiu-wah, a lawyer, those who accepted the government’s consumption vouchers automatically entered a contract to spend them according to their terms and conditions.

“The original intention of these vouchers is to stimulate the local economy,” he said. “Any activity that is out of its intended scope can be considered illegal, and cashing out in such a way, especially if people end up spending the money abroad, for example, is not what these vouchers are meant for.”

But Chu said whether any real criminal prosecution takes place would depend on the scale of the activity.

“The bigger the sum, the higher the chances and the harsher the punishment,” he said.