Attempting to exchange the coronavirus vouchers for cash is illegal, the government agency tasked with overseeing their implementation warned on Wednesday. 

Mimcol, together with the Economy Ministry issued a statement saying that attempting to trade in the vouchers, which were conceived to help boost businesses following the COVID-19 crash, was in "clear violation" of the conditions under which the initiative is offered.

It warned that disciplinary action could be taken. 

The agency said it issued the statement after it was informed that a number of people had been attempting to trade the vouchers for cash. 

Up until last week, just around a third of the 440,000 sets of vouchers had been distributed to households.

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri had said there was a limit to the number of vouchers that staff could deliver each day so he could not give a timeline as to when everyone would receive them.

Four of the five €20 vouchers can be spent in restaurants and accommodation, while the remaining voucher can be used in shops or for services which had to close during the pandemic. They are valid until September 30.

Some 4,000 of the 25,000 eligible businesses have already registered to accept the vouchers as payment in their establishments. 

The scheme hit a bump in operation on Saturday after the government system which validates the vouchers went down, leaving businesses unable to accept them. 

The system was back in working order later in the afternoon. 

Meant to stimulate the economy, the voucher initiative has been largely welcomed by the business community, however teething problems and a delay in businesses getting registered has raised concerns that consumers will not have enough time to spend them before their expiry.