People have rushed to secure Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers, with more than 10 million people claiming them in physical or digital form in the first two days of the program, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday.
Ministry data showed that about 10.63 million people had claimed the allotments of NT$5,000 (US$178.28) of vouchers as of 3pm yesterday, including almost 6.6 million people who ordered physical vouchers.
On Friday, 8.98 million people claimed vouchers, with 4.92 million of them ordering physical vouchers.
Photo: CNA
The Cabinet launched the Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program to boost private consumption after a surge in domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases in the middle of May dampened spending.
The drop in spending has affected the service sector, with lodging operators and food and beverage vendors furloughing workers.
As the surge in COVID-19 cases has since been brought under control, the Cabinet expects the vouchers to encourage spending and boost the service sector.
The vouchers are expected to create about NT$200 billion in economic benefit, the Cabinet said.
In addition to the vouchers, several government agencies, including the MOEA, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Council of Indigenous Peoples, the Hakka Affairs Council, the Ministry of Education and the National Development Council, have launched their own stimulus programs.
Since Friday, people have been allowed to use the vouchers in stores, restaurants and other places across Taiwan and can do so until April 30 next year.
In “Tier 1” of the program, eligible recipients can claim physical vouchers until Oct. 21 if they signed up prior to Oct. 1 at convenience stores or online at https://5000.gov.tw.
In Tier 2, people can register for the physical vouchers from Oct. 25 to 31 and claim them from Nov. 8 to 21.
Post offices also offer the registration service.
To receive digital vouchers, online registration started on Sept. 22 and runs until April 30 next year, when the program ends and all vouchers expire.
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