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SINGAPORE: Local banks have received “overwhelming” demand for slots to exchange new banknotes before Chinese New Year in February.
Its online reservation systems, which opened for the first round of reservations on Monday (January 18), experienced huge spikes in user traffic compared to last year, and spaces were quickly sold out.
Some DBS and OCBC clients also told CNA that they experienced problems with the banks’ websites shortly after reservations opened at 9 a.m.
This year it was made mandatory to make an appointment for the exchange of new banknotes in bank branches to avoid long lines in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only people aged 60 and over and people with disabilities can enter without reservation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on January 11.
READ: MAS encourages the use of e-hongbao for Chinese New Year; Online reservation is required for new banknotes from some banks.
Ms. Sabrina Cai was one of those who tried but couldn’t get a reservation on Monday morning.
“I managed to log into the DBS website at 9:03 am. I was able to select a time and branch, but when I clicked ‘next’ it said the service was temporarily unavailable. I kept refreshing myself. At 9.15 a. M., The website is totally down. I could no longer choose a branch or a moment. ”
The stay-at-home mom later turned to OCBC, but she also had trouble logging into the platform.
“Every year I will help my parents exchange new notes, so this is not the first time I have made a reservation online. But last year it was a lot easier, ”Ms. Cai told CNA.
It was a similar story for Ms. Evonne Wang, who experienced the same difficulties on the DBS platform within minutes of logging in at 9am.
“After selecting the branch and the time you want, the whole system crashes and tells you that there is an error. We kept trying, but the system was stuck. ”
Then the 31-year-old manager tried to help her mother find a space at another bank, but was unsuccessful, as she required an online bank account.
It was much later in the day that he landed a position at OCBC. “It was chaos,” recalls Ms. Wang.
DBS said its Jan. 25-29 slots were sold out on Monday morning. There was “overwhelming interest”, and the number of customers logging into their booking platform was four times higher than last year.
Its spokesperson did not comment when asked about technical problems encountered by some users.
OCBC noticed “a flurry of customers trying to log in” on Monday, causing “some customers to be unable to make their reservations.”
“The issue was resolved in about an hour, after which customers were able to log in to reserve their spaces. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers, ”said Ms Jean Oh, Head of Branch Service and Risk Management.
At the UOB, the reservation spaces for the first week of collection are also fully occupied. The volume of online reservations for new banknotes quadrupled this year compared to the previous year, said its director of personal financial services for the group, Jacquelyn Tan.
The three local banks will release the second round of reserve slots this weekend.
They have also implemented promotions and other initiatives to encourage more people to consider digital red packs, or hongbao, as an alternative.
UOB says its customers can send e-hongbaos through PayNow in the bank’s mobile banking app. (Photo: UOB)
Those with whom the CNA spoke said they understood and agreed with the need for appointments given the pandemic, but wondered if the banking systems should have been better prepared.
Ms Marilyn Hong, 35, said the exchange of new banknotes could have started earlier given the need for COVID-19 restrictions.
“There will always be demand, as it is a tradition, so why not distribute the dates and times by making it available before January?”
Ms Cai, who is pregnant, finds it “a bit disappointing” that pregnant women are not included on the walk-in list. Tasked with helping her elderly parents get new banknotes this Chinese New Year, she intends to get up early for the next round of bookings.
“I’ll probably need to be on hold before 9am, keep updating my page, and hopefully get everything done quickly,” he said.
LISTEN: Will you be giving away an e-hongbao this Chinese New Year?
SECOND ROUND OF RESERVATIONS
The next round of online reservations for account holders from the three local banks will begin this weekend, and OCBC will begin on January 23.
“From January 23 to February 6, depending on the availability of new tickets, we will also open more spaces each day for our customers to pick up their new tickets,” said Oh from OCBC.
DBS and UOB will launch more slots starting January 24.
Ms. Tan from UOB said: “To help customers reserve their notes, we will continue to release reservation slots each week starting January 24 and 31, and our online reservation portal will close once the tickets are filled. spaces “.
DBS said there will be more spaces available for reservation in the second window starting January 24.
Overall, the bank has doubled its number of reservation spaces online this year and extended collection hours for those with reserved spaces by two hours per day, it said in a previous press release.
New tickets can also be withdrawn without reservations at 61 ATMs managed by DBS and POSB in 41 locations, starting January 25. This represents an increase of 40 of those ATMs in 20 locations last year.
To help customers avoid crowded areas, DBS said its ATM map locator will include guidance on estimated wait times at each location.
READ: More recycled red packages due to specialized efforts, more digital transfers during Chinese New Year
‘HUAT’ ABOUT E-HONGBAO?
MAS is also urging Singaporeans to switch to e-hongbao this year, noting that they are safer and more environmentally sustainable.
For example, it is estimated that the carbon emissions generated by the production of new banknotes for each Chinese New Year amount to about 330 tons. That’s equivalent to the emissions from charging a smartphone for every Singaporean resident for five days, the regulator said.
According to statistics, e-hongbao donation seems to be on an uptrend in recent years.
For example, at UOB, the value and volume of PayNow transactions made during Chinese New Year have nearly doubled in the past two years, Ms. Tan said.
Millennials were the largest users, with those between the ages of 21 and 40 accounting for 70 percent of PayNow transactions made during last year’s Chinese New Year.
READ: Comment: Why Tradition Still Triumphs Over Technology This Chinese New Year
The idea of gifting cash through PayNow may also be gaining popularity with older customers.
UOB saw a 209 percent increase in these types of transactions made by people between the ages of 51 and 70 during Chinese New Year last year, compared to last year. The value of its PayNow transactions also increased by 232 percent.
“We expect this trend to increase this year,” said Ms. Tan.
Instructions on how to load a DBS QR gift card found on the bank’s website.
In DBS, the average amount sent through the bank’s eGift service during the Chinese New Year increased from S $ 36 in 2019 to S $ 47 last year. This as customers become more confident in sending money through digital means, the spokesperson said.
Similarly, the number of DBS QR gift cards used during the holiday season last year tripled from the previous year. The total amount loaded on these cards also nearly doubled to S $ 2.8 million.
Introduced in 2019, the DBS QR Gift allows customers to scan a physical QR gift card to send or receive an e-hongbao.
This option, described by the bank as a “QR angbao”, is making a comeback this year, as “it is aware that a large segment of clients still cherish the significant tradition of giving and receiving red packages”.
“We continue to see high adoption and use of our digital banking services since the onset of COVID-19, as Singaporeans are not only switching to their mobile phones and online platforms, they are also sticking to their mobile phones and online platforms for everyday banking and payment needs, “the spokesperson added. .
“We expect the use of DBS QR Gift and DBS eGift to follow similar trends.”
For OCBC and UOB, customers will be able to choose designs and graphics for their e-hongbao and include holiday greetings this year.
Most of the people CNA spoke to agreed that e-hongbao may be an alternative amid COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings. They are also keen to wear them for the younger, more tech-savvy generation at home.
But there are also those who believe in tradition.
“My parents are not that tech savvy, so asking them to switch to e-hongbao will be challenging. They will still prefer having new bills and the process of giving the hongbao as a form of blessing, “said Ms. Hong.
“It may be an alternative for this year … but I hope that when this is over, hongbao will continue to exist.”
