China News Service, April 15 (Xinhua Daily) reported that in order to stimulate domestic demand and boost the economy, the Macao SAR government issued 3,000 yuan (MOP, the same below) electronic consumer cards to Macao residents, which will be issued successively from the 14th. As of 6 p.m. on the 14th, more than 25,000 residents have registered for card collection, the card collection service points are operating smoothly, and the flow of people is generally in good order. The police also sent police officers to the card issuing point to maintain order.
The staff of the Macao Economic Affairs Bureau patrol the service points for card collection. Image source: Macao SAR Government website
Dai Jianye, director of the Macao Economic Bureau, said that on the 14th, 116 banks, together with 17 departments of the SAR government, issued cards to Macao residents. The first hour of card issuance was generally smooth and in good order. Among them, 4 counters are opened at the Heisha Central Government Comprehensive Service Building. More than 90% of the people have come to collect the cards according to the registered time and place in the first hour. It is expected that more than 100 cards will be issued every hour. It is understood that other government departments and bank outlets are also in good order. After the holidays, the number of people handling banks increased, but it did not affect the order of card distribution. Each outlet has a plan. If the number of people increases rapidly, counters will be added appropriately.
The Macao SAR government expects an average of 30,000 people to receive cards every day from the 14th to the 17th. It will reach its peak on weekends, with an estimated 80,000 people receiving cards. In view of this, the SAR Government has added 17 departments to assist in issuing cards, and the card issuing counter has doubled accordingly. There will be 149 card issuing counters on the 14th, and it will increase to 423 on weekends.
Judging from the card issuance process at this stage, everything goes according to the original plan. The SAR Government urges residents to collect cards at relevant locations according to their registration time, and cooperates to maintain a good order for card collection to avoid crowding; authorization letters and declarations can be downloaded online for free or collected on site.
Before the launch of the consumer card, Macau Pass had more than 13,000 application points locally, with more than 7,000 retail outlets and more than 3,000 food and beverage outlets, with a known penetration rate of 70 to 80%. According to statistics, from mid-February to mid-April, an additional 2,400 card loading machines were added; among them, more than 800 vendors have applied to join, and will install them in the future.
For some merchants, the transaction involved high transaction fees. Macau Connect has promised to launch a cash rebate program for SMEs. As long as it meets the definition of SMEs by the SAR Government, Macau Connect will return all its handling fees to SMEs.
I was asked if the loss of the first-phase consumer card would affect the use of the second phase? Dai Jianye responded that the person who received the card should take good care of the consumption card; the specific arrangements for the second phase of the consumption card are in preparation and involve related legislative work. Further information will be announced in due course.