DBS is trailing red packets with a quick response (QR) code this Chinese New Year, which will enable electronic transfers of funds, while keeping the physical nature of the tradition alive.
DBS Bank is rolling out a quick response (QR) red packet in a pilot launch, the bank announced in a press release. According to the bank, this enables the tradition of exchanging hong bao (red packets) containing money during Chinese New Year to be preserved, while allowing users to go cashless and providing them with an added layer of security.
«This is a fresh, digital take on the traditional red packet exchange,» the head of DBS Bank’s consumer banking group in Singapore, Jeremy Soo, said. It also allows customers to skip the long lines at banks to get new notes, which is typical during the festive period.
How It Works
To give a QR red packet, customers must scan the QR code on a DBS QR Ang Bao using the bank’s PayLah! app and load a cash value of up to $999. A message or photo can also be included. The money will be instantly credited to the recipient when they scan the QR code.
Each QR code is unique, and as such, provides an additional layer of security compared to cash, as the user can instantly cancel lost or unredeemed codes instantly.
Tradition Meets Technology
The bank launched its “eAng Bao” (electronic red packet) function on PayLah! in 2015 to enable the practice of giving money during the festival to be done electronically. At the time, many thought that this gesture, which was traditionally done physically using red packets, might be viewed as impersonal.
However, according to the bank, 20 percent of money transfers during the Chinese New Year period that year were made using this function. The number of eAng Bows sent in 2018 also grew sixfold from the year before.
The pilot DBS QR Ang Bao will be available in branches and pop-up ATMs across Singapore from 25 January. The red packets can be used with anyone with a local bank account connected to PayLah! Funds not redeemed by 15 March will be returned to the senders.
