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TAIWAN'S STIMULUS VOUCHERSJP Koning writes: "Readers might be interested in Taiwan's stimulus coupons. Issued to help citizens cope with COVID-19, they expire in December. Gotta spend them! They remind me of some of the exotic forms of depreciating or expiring money issued in the U.S. and Canada during the Great Depression."
Thanks! I hadn't heard of these. JP included a link to an article about them; here's an excerpt. -Editor Premier Su Tseng-chang announced on Tuesday (June 2) that the stimulus vouchers aimed to boost Taiwan's economy amid fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) will become available July 1 and redeemable starting July 15. Residents will be able to select any of the four types of vouchers that suit them — hard copies, credit card payments, contactless smartcards, or mobile payments. The vouchers will be valid until December 31, 2020. Those favoring hard copies can “purchase” vouchers with a total value of NT$3,000 (US$100) at the cost of NT$1,000. They will come in groups of five NT$200 coupons and four NT$500 coupons. The vouchers can be pre-ordered at the country's four major convenience store chains from July 1 and distributed starting July 15 via National Health Insurance (NHI) card or NHI app, the same way Taiwan's ID-based mask rationing system works. People can also visit the 1,300 post offices from July 15 to buy the stimulus vouchers directly. Individuals eligible for the measure include Taiwanese citizens and foreign spouses who hold Alien Resident Certificates (ARCs). Around 1.2 million residents from low-income households will have NT$1,000 transferred to their bank accounts, which can be put towards a stimulus voucher. The vouchers are redeemable at brick-and-mortar retailers, restaurants, night markets, cultural venues, hotels and accommodation businesses, as well as for railway transport services. They cannot be used on e-commerce platforms; to pay taxes, traffic tickets, and credit card bills; or to buy cigarette products, stocks, and coupons, wrote CNA.
The "hardcopy" vouchers will be interesting numismatic souvenirs of these interesting times, just like the Tenino wooden scrip notes discussed earlier. Are numismatic museums planning to acquire examples? -Editor
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To read an earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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