The Government announced today that it has started to disperse the one-off Newborn Baby Bonus of $20,000 to the first batch of about 6,000 eligible parents.

This comes following the completion of the required internal procedures after it obtained the Legislative Council Finance Committee’s funding approval on January 19.

The eligible parents’ applications were submitted between October 25 last year and mid-January this year. Upon disbursement, payees will be notified by SMS messages through a designated telephone number, (852) 5928 7409.

The Government reminded the public that no hyperlink will be included in the SMS notifications of bonus disbursements, and added that people should stay vigilant against Newborn Baby Bonus scams.

Separately, it pointed out that from now on, provided that the information provided by eligible applicants is correct, the applicants will receive the Newborn Baby Bonus via their designated bank account in about two to three weeks from the time of application.