5 reasons why digital angbaos are the way to go this Chinese New Year

With PM Lee endorsing digital angbaos with conviction — putting it out there that the process is ‘simple and fast’ no less —  that’s reason enough for you to do the same this very special Chinese New Year. Did you know that approximately 330 tonnes of carbon emissions are generated by the production of new notes every Chinese New Year?

Not only are you opting for a more environmentally friendly alternative when you embrace digital angbaos, but also you can reap an array of benefits, including some very tangible ones.

Benefits of digital angbaos

1. Save time

Going digital lets you save time for sure. Not everyone has the time or patience to spend it in line queuing up for physical notes. With Covid-19 still lurking, the process of getting new notes has just gotten one step more complex. 

In most cases, those who want new bank notes the traditional way have to first book their appointment online before collecting them at the bank. People who bank with DBS and POSB have another option: withdraw the bank notes at pop-up ATMs peppered across Singapore. 

Still, expect long lines and the fact that the specific denominations you’re after might not be available.

2. Stand a chance to win free money

Gift money digitally and win free money? Count us in! You’re in luck if you bank with UOB or DBS. They are running promos this Chinese New Year that let lucky customers win real, cold hard cash. 

While they aren’t banks per se, TransferWise and Google Pay will also be upping the fun for users this Chinese New Year.

UOB Promo: From Feb 12 to 26, 88 lucky customers stand to win a $188 cash angbao each when they send digital angbaos with UOB Mighty PayNow. Each PayNow transaction (min. $10) earns you a chance and there’s no cap on the number of chances you are eligible to earn. To up the fun factor, you can even pick a specially designed Chinese New Year festive background when sending the digital angbao!

DBS Promo: From Feb 12 to 26, PayLah! customers who give or receive QR Gift/ eGift stand a chance to win up to $888 via the soon-to-be-launched ‘TapLah!’ game that’s to be hosted under the QR Gift dashboard in the PayLah! App.

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To qualify, all you need to do is gift or redeem a QR Gift/ eGift of at least $2 and earn your chance to play and rack up your game score. The top 10 users with the highest scores at the end of each day from Feb 12 to 26, 2021 will win $88 each. To make things more exciting, the player with the highest score across the entire gaming period will win an extra $800!

Google Pay Promo: From Feb 4 to March 26, users stand a chance to win a cash angbao ranging from $8.88 to $88.88 with Google Pay’s new social game, Huat pals. All you have to do is collect all five playful characters or ‘Huat pals’ within the app, which you’ll receive at random upon completing transactions and other actions on Google Pay, such as sending money to friends, paying businesses or completing referrals. 

Scroll down Google Pay app’s homepage and tap on Huat pals to access the campaign. Make sure you’re already opted in to Google Pay rewards! Check out this post here for more details.

TransferWise Promo: From now to March 31, your recipients can enjoy a bonus of 30 Chinese Yuan when you send money to their Alipay ID with TransferWise. Bear in mind that to qualify for this promotion, you’ll have to be sending money to an Alipay ID for the first time. Recipients are eligible to receive multiple bonuses as long as the transactions are from unique, different senders.

3. You can prepare last minute angbaos on the go

Growing up, we’ve all witnessed our parents and relatives become frantic whenever last minute angbaos were needed as unexpected recipients loomed. The challenge to always have fresh angbao envelopes and extra new bank notes available on hand is real, if the one giving out angbaos doesn’t want to be judged negatively or be called ‘stingy’.  

With digital angbaos, nobody has to ever feel bad or embarrassed anymore. Digital angbaos can be gifted on the spot right away — in the exact denominations you want for extra huat (e.g. $88.88). Ingenious, no?

4. Track your money easily

You get to track your incoming and outgoing funds at a glance when you receive and give digital angbaos. While you might not admit this plainly, it’s always nice to know who you’ve already given angbaos to. 

Your nephews and nieces, cousins, and elderly relatives whom you rarely see the entire year as well as your neighbours’ kids can’t trick you into giving out double or triple angbaos just because you’re forgetful.

5. Stay safe amidst Covid-19

This Chinese New Year is unlike any other. In light of the various safe distancing measures in place, responsible people like you and I can reduce physical contact with extended family members simply by opting to give and receive digital angbaos instead of traditional angbaos. 

What’s more, digital angbaos are a great complement to virtual gatherings. Regardless of where you may be, you can send or receive angbaos digitally within the blink of an eye.

Digital angbao providers

Convinced to go digital this year? Take heart that DBS, UOB, SCB, OCBC, Citibank and Maybank provide digital angbao services via PayNow or QR codes. You can even add on some festive personalisation with UOB’s e-hongbao and DBS eGift to make things a little more interesting and, well, festive. 

ALSO READ: CNY ang bao rates for 2020 and rules no one tells you about

Prefer the personal touch of a physical, same same but different angbao? DBS has you covered with the DBS QR Gift. With this partially digital angbao, the angbao giver has to scan and load up the QR Gift(s) via PayLah! whereas the angbao recipient simply scans the QR code to receive their gift via PayLah! or PayNow.