1000 from Zelenskyy: why is it needed and why is it important to use it?

Viktoriia Hubareva

The problem we all know is that the service and tourism sectors are affected by the pandemic. Many hotels have closed, even abroad; in Ukraine, mainly small coffee shops and restaurants didn't stay afloat.

Another seemingly unrelated problem is the low rate of vaccination of the population. That, of course, depends on many factors, ranging from mistrust of the vaccine and ending with the lack of motivation among the population to vaccinate.

In Ukraine, these two problems were tied up, and they decided to kill two birds with one stone.

The solution was a thousand from Zelenskyy, which can be spent on cinema, theater, travel, medicine, or books. Someone was pleasantly pleased with the initiative, some criticize the solution, saying that it would be more useful to spend a thousand to pay for utilities. Nevertheless, there is a decision to issue a thousand hryvnia to those who've already been vaccinated. Although the payment can only be spent on certain areas, albeit not key ones for the Ukrainian economy, these are the areas that have suffered from the pandemic.

That is, the government decided to provide indirect support to businesses. Which ones? The consumer will decide, who, moreover, they will get out of the usual model of behavior, enrich themselves culturally in the theater, buy a book, the medications they need, or even vitamins.

…in Northern Ireland

After 4 months, the funds not spent from Ukrainian cards will return to the state budget, and the spent will flow into the economy. The same system, with a few differences, has been implemented in Northern Ireland as part of the Department of Economy's pandemic recovery program. There, every citizen over 18 years old received a Mastercard Spend Local card worth 100 pounds, which is more than in Ukraine, the amount is equivalent to about 3600 hryvnias. At the same time, there was no prerequisite in the form of vaccination.

Money from Spend Local could be used in two months to purchase goods and services from any company located in Northern Ireland that accepts card payments; however, it was not possible to use the money online or withdraw cash. Also, the card cannot be used for gambling or to pay for certain legal and financial services such as mortgages, credit card payments, fines, insurance, and vehicle tax.

 In Ukraine, restrictions have been introduced on companies that accept payments, and if you want to pay with the "єПідтримка" card for other purposes (not in the cinema, not for train or plane tickets, not in a pharmacy or a bookstore), the operation will not work because of "the limit being exceeded."

"Every penny counts, so spend it now, spend it all and spend it locally"

Whether the rate of vaccination in Ukraine has changed after they tried to stimulate the population financially, it's impossible to say for sure. There were no relevant surveys that could be referred to. The same is true in other countries, where they tried to motivate the population to vaccinate by giving gift certificates to people or, like in Ukraine, by paying money with a card. For example, in California, they offered a $50 gift card and a draw of 10 prizes of $1.5 million each. In Ohio, they announced a lottery with a prize of $1 million. In New York, they gave $100 and the opportunity to win a scholarship to study at the university. Ukrainian Forbes writes that almost all of these experiments showed either a minor effect on vaccination (increase in intentions by literally a few percent) or none at all. And in one study, financial rewards even reduced the desire to get vaccinated among certain social groups.

However, Ukrainians spend the payment very actively. As of December 25, more than 5 million Ukrainians have already applied to Diia for the service, and 6 million have issued special cards in banks. Of all the Ukrainians who were vaccinated, opened accounts, and applied, 2.7 million Ukrainians have already received payments. So only 270 million have been spent so far. As the Ministry of Digital Transformation reports, bookstores and cinema tickets are the most popular payout categories. In third place are train tickets. Then there are theaters, concerts and various performances; the last one is sports.

In Northern Ireland, where such a system has been in operation since October, Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said that so far almost everyone who applied for a Spend Local card has received one. Hundreds of thousands of shoppers have already started using these cards and have spent nearly £90 million in retail, hospitality, and services:

"And it works," the minister said. "The Northern Retail Consortium reported that the number of visitors was growing, while PwC [PricewaterhouseCoopers – an international consulting company – Ed.] recently predicted that this Christmas, spending on the main street would increase."

Gordon also noted that it was very important that each cardholder "spend every penny" from their card, as this will provide maximum support to the economy after the pandemic:

"You may have five, ten, or even a couple of pounds left. But if you have money left, use it. When you're away from home this weekend, support your local coffee shop, newsstand, hairdresser, taxi driver, or anyone hard hit by the pandemic. Every penny counts, so spend it now, spend it all and spend it locally."

If you're already vaccinated, apply for your thousand and try to spend every last penny, as Gordon Lyons from Ireland advises. You can find instructions on how to receive your payment at the link.