‘Community Spending Rewards’ scheme launches tomorrow with new merchant vouchers

The “2026 Community Spending Rewards” scheme launches tomorrow with new merchant-funded discount vouchers and consumption privilege vouchers, prompting questions about whether government and merchant discounts must be used separately.

Co-organized by the local government and the Macao Chamber of Commerce (ACM), the scheme will run for 10 weeks, from this Friday (Oct. 9) through December 17, offering about MOP468 million in consumption discounts.

Alongside government-issued e-vouchers, this year’s edition introduces merchant-funded “spend-and-save vouchers” and consumption privileges. Participating merchants will display colored stickers and signage to help residents identify and use the offers, with details available on the scheme’s official website.

However, the new additions, intended to diversify the scheme, have drawn complaints from residents who claim that the variety of discounts is confusing.

During yesterday’s public broadcaster TDM’s radio Forum program, listeners asked whether a MOP100 government voucher and a MOP12 merchant discount on a MOP100 spend must be used in separate transactions, and whether the vouchers can be stacked or whether they are deducted at the merchant’s discretion.

The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) said that residents who hold, for example, MOP30 in e-vouchers and one merchant spend-and-save voucher on a MOP100 bill should first check whether the merchant is participating in the scheme; if so, they can decide whether to redeem both at once. If the spend-and-save voucher — MOP12 off a MOP100 spend — is redeemed first, the bill drops to MOP88, leaving only MOP20 of e-vouchers available. If the resident wants to use the full MOP30 in e-vouchers, they can keep the spend-and-save voucher for the next purchase.

“Residents also need to do the math, because we have a rule that vouchers can only be redeemed at three times the threshold, so they have to calculate — if the threshold isn’t met, the vouchers can’t be redeemed,” said Lau Kit Lon, head of the bureau’s Industry and Commerce Development Department, adding that “different institutions or merchants will have their own offers.”

Notably, more than 900 merchants are currently participating in the spend-and-save and consumption privilege voucher programs. Frederico Ma, president of the ACM, said the response “has been enthusiastic” and that residents can tell whether a merchant offers its own discounts by the yellow or blue stickers displayed — yellow for spend-and-save vouchers, blue for consumption privilege vouchers.

“The e-vouchers received can in fact be stacked, but they depend on the platform, which must be used to redeem them,” he added.

Addressing concerns that only merchants using Macau Pass POS terminals can apply for the spend-and-save vouchers, Lau explained that, given time constraints and the impracticality of requiring eight payment platforms to adopt a unified redemption model, the bureau assessed that using Macau Pass terminals to redeem merchant vouchers would require the fewest government resources.

No price hikes found across over 500 shops

Meanwhile, days earlier, the authorities said they had stepped up inspections of shops ahead of Friday’s launch of the government-backed spending incentive scheme, deploying additional staff to check prices and briefing merchants on the details to encourage more participation.

On yesterday’s radio program, the bureau again urged merchants to trade honestly and price goods accurately to keep prices stable, and to avoid prepaid consumption promotions to protect consumer rights. It noted that prices in Macau remain stable and that no significant price hikes have been found among the more than 500 shops inspected so far.

According to reports, the collection method largely follows the previous model: spending MOP50 in person earns three chances to draw rewards, with redemption optimized so vouchers drawn on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday can be redeemed from the day of collection through the following Thursday, giving residents more time to use the discounts and plan their spending.

Starting Friday, elderly residents and disability assessment cardholders also receive a MOP500 instant discount, available by tapping a card at more than 100 designated locations.