Pre-booking of CNY 2025 bank notes starts Jan. 7, collection at DBS, OCBC, UOB: MAS

Chinese New Year (CNY) falls on Jan. 29 this year.

If you need to stock up on physical bank notes for the angbao-giving season, take note: pre-booking of new or fit notes will start soon.

"Fit" notes, or fit-for-gifting notes, are used currency notes that are generally clean and of suitable quality for recirculation, kind of like the notes you get at an ATM.

Here are the ways you can get hold of the notes if you're a DBS, OCBC, or UOB bank member:

1. Pre-booking for collection at bank branches: Online pre-booking is required, from Jan. 7. Collection of pre-booked notes at bank branches from Jan. 14.
2. Walk-in exchange at bank branches: Only for those 60 and above, or persons with disabilities.
3. Selected pop-up and branch ATMs of DBS, OCBC and UOB: Notes can be withdrawn without any pre-booking from Jan. 14.

Customers of all other banks may refer to the respective banks’ websites for details on fit and new notes exchange, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a Jan. 2 statement.

MAS added that Standard Chartered Bank, Maybank, and CIMB Bank will also require online pre-booking for notes exchange ahead of CNY 2025.

Fit notes, e-angbaos

In the name of sustainability, members of the public are strongly encouraged to use fit notes or e-angbaos.

Last year, almost two in three ang bao givers chose fit notes over new ones, MAS said.

This resulted in emissions savings "equivalent to the annual emissions from powering about 220 four-room public housing flats", MAS said.

According to MAS, around 100 million new currency notes are issued annually for festive gifting.

Most are only used once before being returned to MAS.

However, due to the high number of returned notes, excess notes are destroyed before the end of their useful life.

Issuing excess new notes also results in unnecessary carbon emissions, equivalent to powering 430 four-room HDB flats for a year, MAS said.

Why fit notes?

All fit notes have been verified by banknote processing machines to meet quality standards for recirculation, including for festive gifting.

They're similar to bank notes you might withdraw from an ATM, and may have fold lines or minor stains, but are "generally clean", MAS said.

Unlike just withdrawing from an ATM however, making a reservation allows members of public to choose specific denominations, such as S$2.

You'll also be able to reserve the notes in bulk, instead of making repeated withdrawals.

Top image via Canva