TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — By 5 p.m. on Wednesday (Sept. 22), more than 1.6 million people had applied for the digital version of stimulus vouchers on the launch day, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The “Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers,” worth NT$5,000 (US$180), per person were a key element in the government’s campaign to help local businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 150,000 foreign citizens are also eligible for the stimulus vouchers.

While printed versions will also be available, the digital vouchers to be linked with credit cards, mobile payment services, or stored value cards were launched at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, CNA reported. Use of the coupons will be valid from Oct. 8 until April 30, 2022.

Initial interest in the project was so large that glitches with the special website occurred, though the situation improved later in the day. By 5 p.m., about 7.3 million people had visited the site, with more than 1.6 million actually registering for the vouchers. A total of 1.29 million visitors had applied for themselves, while 306,000 wanted to pool the vouchers with friends or relatives, the MOEA said.

In addition to the “Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers,” the government also planned to release a range of coupons applicable to a particular sector, such as travel or the arts.

An estimated 3.51 million people registered Wednesday to take part in draws for NT$1,000 travel vouchers, while 3.48 million were interested in farm tourism coupons. Draws for sports vouchers attracted 3.39 million people and arts vouchers 3.38 million, according to the MOEA data.