(Source: John Thng on Unsplash)
A recent visit to my parents’ place over the festive period prompted me to write an article on the CDC Voucher Scheme. My parents received a letter from the government informing them of the household’s eligibility to claim CDC vouchers but did not know how to go about doing it. This made me realised that digitally less savvy residents, especially the older generation, may not be utilizing their CDC vouchers at all! Therefore, this article serves as a form of public service announcement and provides tips on how to claim and where to use the CDC vouchers announced in 2021.
What Is The CDC Voucher Scheme
The CDC Voucher Scheme was part of the Household Support Package announced in Budget 2021 that will see approximately 1.3million Singaporean households receive $100 worth of CDC vouchers. (Source: Community Development Council). Each household with at least 1 Singaporean will be able to claim $100 in vouchers, as was the case for my parents’ household.
The latest (3rd) tranche of the CDC Voucher Scheme should not be confused with the earlier tranches as those were targeted at lower-income families while participating merchants included big corporations such as NTUC and Sheng Shiong. Instead, the current tranche of the CDC Voucher Scheme has been extended to all Singaporean households and are to be spent at local businesses at HDB estates, hawkers etc. In economic theory, this can be considered a form of pump priming as government is providing funds to spur growth for the heartland enterprises.
How To Claim/Apply Your CDC Vouchers
Firstly, a mobile app is not required to claim and use the vouchers. Singaporeans simply need to click on this redemption link and login with their Singpass as shown in Diagram 1.
Diagram 1: How to claim your CDC Voucher on RedeemSG
Once the personal particulars have been verified, key in the mobile number to receive an OTP. The CDC Vouchers link will be sent via SMS. Simply click on the link to go to your vouchers. Only 1 representative from the household is required to login to claim on the household’s behalf. Such menial tasks are obviously left to me but I am kind enough to share it with the wife.
Diagram 2: Example of how CDC Vouchers can be shared across various platforms (Source: CDC)
That’s right, vouchers can be shared across the household and I think this is a smart tip for husbands to know.
It is inevitable that digitally less savvy residents might miss out on the benefits of the CDC Vouchers Scheme since the primary mode to claim them is digital. Thankfully, help is available for this group who often do not possess a smartphone or Singpass. They can instead choose to visit their nearest community centres and request for the staff to print out physical vouchers. Apparently, I have neighbours who print out the CDC vouchers from the comfort of their own homes. One just need to ensure that the QR code is clear enough to be scanned by the merchants.
Where To Use
One common misconception is that only merchants at wet markets and hawker centers can accept these CDC vouchers. The truth is that most mom and pop stores at your neighbourhood are eligible to participate in the scheme. The best way to check for participating merchants is to visit this website. Alternatively, simply check whether there is this decal pasted across the shop front.
Diagram 3: Decal indicating merchant is participating in the CDC Voucher Scheme
How To Use CDC Voucher
Residents can present either digital/paper voucher and the merchant will scan digital/paper vouchers.
Diagram 4: Screenshot of Heartland Boy’s CDC voucher value
When I was using these vouchers, I notice that the merchants usually have to whip out their phones and launch the RedeemSG Merchant app first. It takes quite a while to scan the QR code so I urge everyone to have more patience as this process is relatively new, especially to merchants belonging to the older generation.
Here are some helpful tips that you can consider when utilizing your CDC Vouchers:
- Vouchers are issued in fixed denomination, so no change/refund will be provided even if the purchase amount is less than the value of the vouchers used
- Possible to stack vouchers of different denominations and spend them all in a single transaction!
- Econ minimarts, provision shops, hairdressers are examples of eligible merchants where you may incur a larger expenditure than a hawker meal within a single transaction
- Consider bookmarking the link so that you need not look for the sms link every single time you want to make a redemption
- CDC Voucher Scheme expires on 31 Dec 2022, so there’s plenty of time left
Hope this article comes in time for your last-minute CNY shopping at the heartlands.
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