Getting notes for CNY hongbao: Bookings start on Jan 7

SINGAPORE – From Jan 7, the public can make appointments to get hongbao notes for Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 29 and 30.

This can be done via the online reservation systems of DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and UOB, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Jan 2.

Collection of new and fit-for-gifting notes will start from Jan 14.

Walk-in exchanges at DBS, OCBC and UOB branches are available only for those aged 60 and above and people with disabilities.

From Jan 14, hongbao notes can be withdrawn without booking at selected DBS, OCBC and UOB pop-up and branch ATMs.

MAS added that the number of pop-up and branch ATMs dispensing hongbao notes in locations across Singapore will be increased.

Fit-for-gifting notes – or fit notes, as MAS calls them – are those that are clean and suitable for recirculation. The notes are similar in quality to those dispensed by ATMs, it said.

MAS started encouraging the use of fit notes from Chinese New Year 2023.

It encourages the public to adopt more environmentally friendly hongbao options such as e-hongbao and fit notes, as issuing new notes to meet the demand for festive gifting generates unnecessary carbon emissions.

More than 11.7 million pieces of fit notes were exchanged during Chinese New Year in 2024, MAS added. This was a 5 per cent increase from the number in 2023.

Producing that number of new notes would have generated approximately 408 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is comparable to the annual emissions from powering about 220 four-room Housing Board flats.

In a 2024 survey conducted by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, almost two in three hongbao givers chose to use fit notes over new notes.

DBS said on Jan 2 that it will have 72 pop-up ATMs disbursing fit and new notes in 48 locations from Jan 14 to 28.

The bank said it has increased the number of pop-up ATMs dispensing only fit notes by 50 per cent from 2024, bringing the total to 15 machines.

The bank is rewarding customers who embrace digital gifting with a giveaway from Jan 7 to Feb 18, offering over 1,000 prizes of $8,888 and $88.

To qualify for the giveaway, customers need to send an e-gift or load a QR Ang Bao with at least $8 and keep their total cash withdrawals below $500 during the giveaway period.

In 2024, over seven in 10 customers embraced digital gifting for the first time through DBS QR Ang Bao and e-gift services.

A total of $39 million was transferred through the bank’s digital gifting options.

OCBC will have 24 ATMs disbursing fit and new notes in 13 locations, such as its Wisma Atria, Tampines and Jurong Point branches, said its head of branch service and risk management, Ms Jean Oh.

The bank has increased its number of ATMs dispensing fit notes to four, up from two in 2024. 

They are located at OCBC Wisma Atria, OCBC Centre and OCBC Tampines Centre 2.

UOB will have 30 ATMs across 17 locations to dispense new notes, and four ATMs for fit notes. Customers can do their withdrawals from Jan 14, limited to two transactions per card per day.