PayMe and BOC Pay to join next phase of consumption voucher scheme

The Hong Kong government has added HSBC's PayMe and Bank of China (Hong Kong)'s BoC Pay in implementing the second phase of the consumption voucher scheme this year.

There will be a total of six stored value facility (SVF) operators participating in the next phase, including AlipayHK, BoC Pay, Octopus, PayMe from HSBC, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK. In a statement, the Hong Kong government said it is discussing with the relevant operators on the detailed arrangements, including system design and detailed procedures.

HSBC said it is planning to roll out new measures to help SMBs benefit from the scheme. "We are thrilled and honoured that PayMe from HSBC can support Phase II of the Hong Kong government’s new round of consumption voucher scheme to boost local consumption and drive digital payment adoption in Hong Kong. We will continue to offer a fast and seamless onboarding process for customers wishing to spend their vouchers via PayMe," said Luanne LIM, chief executive, Hong Kong, HSBC.

“We have to think big and outside the box to arrive at new solutions that serve the evolving needs of customers in the digital era. Over the past few years, we have strengthened our digital banking capabilities with the ambition of turning HSBC into a ‘bank in your pocket’," said Maggie NG, head of wealth and personal banking, Hong Kong, HSBC.

Boasting more than 2.7 million users in Hong Kong, PayMe has emerged from a P2P payment app to become a widely adopted P2M payment solution through "PayMe for Business", which has built a presence at more than 34,000 online and physical outlets across the city.

In addition to PayMe, BoC Pay has also been selected by the government as one of the SVF operators. To support the scheme, Bank of China (Hong Kong) will introduce a series of rebates and spending offers to facilitate the public to collect and use electronic consumption vouchers via BoC Pay while offering them digital payment convenience and various shopping discounts. In addition, the bank will provide merchants with BoC Bill integrated billing service that accepts multiple payment tools including SVFs that support the scheme. A host of fee waivers will be introduced too.

"We will launch different promotions and offers to attract our users to spend their consumption vouchers at the sectors or merchants affected by the pandemic. In view of the transformation of consumption behaviours and business models in the digital era, the bank is committed to promoting the use of mobile payments by adopting innovative technologies to offer consumers and merchants easier and more convenient payment and collection solutions," said Ann Kung, deputy chief executive of BOCHK.

Speaking of the addition of the SVF operators, Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong government said, "With last year's experience, the disbursement of vouchers assisted by the four SVF operators in April under the first phase of the scheme has been smoother. With the development of the market, the number of operators suitable for assisting in the disbursement of vouchers has increased, thereby expanding the choice of SVFs, encouraging healthy competition, bringing more incentives to people and merchants, boosting consumer sentiment and further promoting the development of the electronic payment market."

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