SINGAPORE - About $8 million in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers has already been spent at participating heartland merchants, hawkers and supermarkets since the latest tranche was launched on Jan 3.
In the same period, about 60 per cent of the 1.27 million Singaporean households – or more than 750,000 households – claimed their $500 worth of CDC vouchers each, Ms Low Yen Ling, Mayor of the South West District and chairwoman of the mayors’ committee, announced on social media.
She said in her post on Jan 5: “We hope these CDC vouchers will come in handy to help residents defray daily expenses and inject additional boost to businesses, especially during the festive period and the start of the school year.”
To help further offset costs, some participating supermarkets are offering return vouchers or other deals to those who use a minimum amount of CDC vouchers for each transaction.
FairPrice Group, U Stars Supermarket and DFI Retail Group, which operates Cold Storage, CS Fresh and Jasons Deli, are offering vouchers for a minimum spend of CDC vouchers. There are different claim and usage periods, depending on terms and conditions set out by each retailer.
At Giant, also under DFI Retail Group, those who spend $100 worth of vouchers from Jan 3 to 7 are eligible to redeem a 2.5kg bag of rice.
One shopper who got the FairPrice return vouchers was Ms Eileen Chong, who was at FairPrice Finest at Bishan Junction 8 on Jan 4. For spending $160 worth of her CDC vouchers, she received two return vouchers worth $8 each, which she can use by Feb 29.
She was buying food and items such as eggs, Korean rice cakes and aluminium trays, for a party that she will be throwing at home.
The 42-year-old, who runs a home-based business, said she preferred to use the CDC vouchers immediately, instead of offsetting the cost of her groceries over the year.
She said: “If I delay using them, I may forget to use them for the rest of the year.”
Others like Madam Munirah, who goes by only one name, were looking to use their vouchers in case of emergencies.
“I budget $800 a month on groceries and food for my family of four, so I will use the CDC vouchers only when I overspend,” said the 43-year-old office manager.
Likewise, Mr Troy Ng, 54, who works in the real estate industry, said he would be prudent about how he spends the CDC vouchers. “I’m in no rush to use them because we have 12 months (to use them).”
The CDC vouchers can be claimed digitally at go.gov.sg/cdcv and spent at over 23,600 participating heartland merchants and hawkers, as well as 415 participating supermarket outlets islandwide.
After one member of the household has claimed the vouchers, the vouchers can be shared among the rest of the household if they have access to the link.
However, some Singaporeans are cautious about downloading their vouchers, having read that there were unofficial links circulating online following the launch.
A 61-year-old retired financial controller, who declined to be named, said: “I’m reluctant to claim the vouchers as I’m worried about scam links, and I don’t need to buy anything urgently, so I will wait for a while (before downloading them).”
