More giving e-hongbaos during Chinese New Year, banks say, but some customers have mixed views

SINGAPORE — Several banks here have reported a rapid rise in e-hongbaos (electronic red packets) given out during Chinese New Year over the last couple of years, amid growing consciousness about sustainability and Covid-19 safe distancing measures.

To encourage the use of e-hongbaos, banks are also rolling out more features so that customers can personalise their gifts.

Hongbaos filled with money are usually gifted to family and friends during Chinese New Year as a token of one’s good wishes.

TODAY spoke to four people celebrating Chinese New Year, which fell on Feb 1 (Tuesday), who have mixed views about the e-hongbao.

While some felt it was a safer and more convenient alternative to a physical hongbao during the Covid-19 pandemic, others felt that it took away from the tradition associated with the new year.

RISE IN E-HONGBAO TRANSACTIONS

In response to TODAY’s queries, four banks — Standard Chartered, Citibank Singapore, OCBC and DBS — said they have seen e-hongbao transactions rise over the last few years.

Standard Chartered said that since it introduced e-hongbaos three years ago, transaction figures have doubled from 2019 to 2020, and tripled from 2020 to 2021.

The rise is in line with the cashless lifestyle that its clients are adopting, said the bank.

Citibank Singapore said its e-hongbao transactions have more than doubled from 2020 to 2021.

It attributed the rise to fewer home visits due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the convenience of sending a hongbao without requiring physical cash.

Mr Gary Wong, the head of digital payments and ecosystems at OCBC Bank, said that the bank launched its Pay Anyone mobile application in 2014, and introduced an e-hongbao feature on it last year.

Since 2014, transactions on the app during Chinese New Year have been “growing significantly”, said Mr Wong.

The bank has encouraged the use of e-hongbaos during Chinese New Year as they are more environmentally friendly and convenient.

During the entire Chinese New Year period in 2020, transactions doubled year-on-year from 2019, said Mr Wong.

During the same period last year, the number of Pay Anyone transactions was 40 per cent higher compared to 2020, he added.

A spokesperson from DBS Bank said that it expects high usage of its digital hongbao services this year.

The bank had introduced e-hongbaos in 2015 via its PayLah! App. In 2019, it introduced a QR hongbao service, where users could scan a QR code on a gift card resembling a red packet to load or redeem their money.

The use of both services hit record highs last year, said the bank.

More companies have also adopted QR hongbaos to gift their employees, with the figure rising from five in 2020 to 71 this year, said DBS.

The bank’s spokesperson attributed the increasing take up to convenience, people’s increasing comfort with digital transactions during the pandemic and growing awareness of the environmental impact of gifting traditional hongbaos.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

Those that TODAY spoke to had mixed views on whether they preferred e-hongbaos over the physical kind.

Mr Adrian Oh, a 56-year-old product manager, said that he has been using e-hongbaos for several years as they are more convenient and save him the time of having to queue up at a bank to withdraw physical notes.

“During this pandemic, it is also so much safer to use,” he said, adding that he believes the Covid-19 virus can be transmitted easily through physical money.

Mr Ng Cher Pheng, on the other hand, said that he did not enjoy using e-hongbaos as they did not feel traditional or meaningful.

The 67-year-old retiree had used an e-hongbao for the first time last year to send money to his son based overseas.

However, it felt like he was simply “banking in money” to his son’s account, said Mr Ng.

He gave his son, who is back in Singapore, a physical hongbao this year.

Ms Connie Yeo, a 44-year-old accountant, said that she used e-hongbaos for the first time last year as she wanted to let her close relatives know that they were still in her thoughts although she was unable to visit them.

While e-hongbaos are a “convenient alternative”, Ms Yeo said she prefers physical hongbaos as she can convey her wishes to her loved ones in person.

Ms Yeo, who used e-hongbaos again this year, said she will resume giving physical hongbaos when Covid-19 restrictions on visiting are relaxed.

CUSTOMISATION, LUCKY DRAWS

From personalised messages to lucky draws, banks here said they have introduced more features to encourage the use of e-hongbaos.

Some banks such as Citibank, DBS and Standard Chartered allow users to customise messages, designs or animations in their gifts.

OCBC, meanwhile, is giving its customers a chance to win cash credit for sending out e-hongbaos.

Maybank, which introduced an e-hongbao feature on its Maybank2u SG (Lite) app this year, is also running a lucky draw this month to let users win back the value of their e-hongbaos.

Despite these efforts by banks, Mr Ian Chong, a 34-year-old who works in an insurance agency, said he will not even try e-hongbaos out.

"Call me old-fashioned, but I still prefer to give physical hongbaos," said Mr Chong. 

He added: “The whole purpose of giving hongbaos is about tradition. So if you take that away, then what’s the point? It’s just like a matter of transferring money."