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Across Southeast Asia, convenience and sustainability considerations are driving growing adoption of electronic red packets. (Photo: iStock)
Across Southeast Asia, Lunar New Year celebrations are marked by the exchange of hongbao, ang pow, or li xi. But the tradition of gifting money in red packets also carries an environmental cost. Increasingly, convenience and sustainability concerns are nudging people toward electronic red packets, a shift that governments and banks in the region are actively encouraging.
In Singapore, the production of new currency notes for the Lunar New Year generates around 330 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, according to 2021 data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). To reduce this footprint, MAS has been urging the public to opt for fit-for-giving notes or e-hongbao. Fit notes are used currency notes, similar in quality to those dispensed at ATMs, that may show minor folds or stains but remain suitable for gifting. Banks have also rolled out incentives such as lucky draws to encourage greater use of digital red packets.
