A government spokesman said today that records indicate that about 20,000 persons who used Octopus to receive vouchers last year have returned the relevant Octopus card to Octopus Cards Limited without updating their account for receiving the new vouchers.

With the first installment of HK$3,000 consumption vouchers to be disbursed on April 16 to the stored value facility accounts of successful registrants under last year's scheme, members of the public are reminded to update their account by the deadline of next Wednesday (Mar 29) online, by post or in person to one of the eight temporary service centers. (Click here for the address)

“If the Octopus card used for collecting vouchers last year is still valid, they can continue to use the same card to receive the new voucher installment without the need to go through any procedure,” the spokesman added.

Meanwhile, for elderly people who have applied for the JoyYou card and have returned their original Octopus card, but have not yet updated their account for receiving vouchers, they can also call the Octopus hotline 2969 5588 to make an amendment for using the JoyYou card for receiving vouchers.

“In cases where their Octopus card used for receiving vouchers last year is still valid, elderly people who have applied for the JoyYou card may continue to use their original card for receiving vouchers without the need to go through any procedure or switch to the JoyYou card to receive the vouchers,” the spokesman said.