Rain doesn't stop Singaporeans from queueing for hours to secure crisp banknotes for CNY
Carmen Sin and Zachary Lim
The Straits Times
January 14, 2025
Long queues befitting the upcoming zodiac Year of the Snake formed at ATMs islandwide on Jan 14 as office workers and seniors alike arrived to withdraw "hongbao notes" on the first day of issue.
More than 125 machines began dispensing crisp banknotes - both new and used - to be stuffed in red packets for Chinese New Year (CNY), which begins on Jan 29.
By midday in central Toa Payoh, waiting times extended to well over an hour at the POSB pop-up ATM, while OCBC and UOB machines nearby drew lunch-hour crowds of some 50 people, despite the drizzle.
At Keat Hong Community Club and selected OCBC branches, elderly customers sat in neat rows of chairs prepared for the annual rush.
Few seemed to mind, though.
Retiree Helen Su, 80, who had stood in line for some two hours, said the long wait is an annual affair. She has been withdrawing fresh notes for many years now as a "symbol of new beginnings".
She said: "E-hongbao are a big no for me. It's a loss of the tradition of paying respect to your elders, and (the young) won't feel a need to bai nian", referring to the CNY custom of visiting friends' and relatives' homes.
Many who spoke to The Straits Times felt similarly, citing the primacy of tradition, even as an OCBC spokesman said e-hongbao are becoming "the new normal".
In a first for the bank, more OCBC customers sent digital red packets than withdrew cash in 2024, and seven in 10 who sent DBS e-hongbao that year were new users of the service.
Mrs Felicia Liau, 48, who had queued for about two hours, said that though digital red packets come in handy for gifting to family overseas, it was important that she drew physical cash in her zodiac year.
"There's this idea of renewal," said the sales manager, who was born in a year of the snake.
For 57-year-old Mrs Tan, who gave only her surname, bank transfers just "lack that physical touch".
Still, most told ST they were receptive to lightly used notes, known as "fit-for-gifting" or "fit notes", first issued by local banks in 2023 in a bid to reduce the carbon emissions generated from processing new notes.
Administrative clerk Mrs Ng, who did not want to give her full name, said: "I prefer new notes but am okay with almost new, as long as they are presentable."
A customer showing the new notes he withdrew at a DBS/POSB pop-up ATM outside Clementi Community Centre on Jan 14. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
By 2pm, the DBS ATM at Nex mall in Serangoon was all out of fit notes and they had to be replenished.
The bank said there was "resilient customer demand" for both fit and new notes, and it had increased the number of pop-up ATMs dispensing only fit notes by 50 per cent from 2024, bringing the total to 15 machines.
At OCBC, new notes were, unsurprisingly, still the more popular option, but the bank also increased the number of ATMs dispensing fit notes this year to make this greener option more accessible, said a spokesman.
There are 72 POSB ATMs disbursing fit and new notes, 24 OCBC ones and 30 UOB ones.
A sign at the UOB branch in Bukit Panjang Plaza on Jan 14 indicating that the new notes had run out. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Since Jan 7, members of the public have also been able to make appointments to exchange their cash for fit and new notes at banks - a coveted option.
All slots released by DBS and OCBC so far have been snapped up within 30 minutes to a few hours, said the banks. Slots at UOB were also fully taken up by 2pm on Jan 14, said a spokesman.
Walk-in exchanges at DBS, OCBC and UOB branches are available only for those aged 60 and above and people with disabilities.
At DBS, the slots went faster than in 2024, "likely due to greater awareness of the portal and reservation process", said a spokesman.
Most of the customers were aged 50 and above, DBS added.
