Chew Ming Hui, Author at Goody Feed

Chinese New Year is coming up in just a few weeks. You know what that means. If you're single, it's time to start rehearsing your response to "boy ah... still no girlfriend?" or if you're married, it's time to start getting those ang baos in order. Belong to the latter group and feeling a headache just thinking about all the ang baos you need to prepare? Luckily for you, DBS will be opening online reservations for fit-for-gifting and new notes soon. You can even start ordering QR ang baos online now! Fit & New Notes from DBS Available for Online Reservation from 7 January From 7 January onwards, DBS customers can start to reserve fit notes and new notes online. Huh? Fit notes is simi? If you've yet to hear, unlike new notes, fit notes are used notes that are generally clean and of suitable quality for recirculation, including for festive gifting. So, you can think of fit notes as fit-for-gifting notes lah. And now, if you're thinking: "But why would I use old notes if I could use new notes?" Well, it's essentially to save the environment. Because in case you forgot, printing new notes every CNY isn't exactly very environmentally friendly lah. Anyway, if you reserve your fit or new notes with DBS from 7 January to 12 January, you'll be able to collect the notes between 14 January and 20 January (except for Saturdays and Sundays). If you reserve your fit or new notes with DBS from 13 January to 19 January instead, you'll only be able to collect the notes between 21 January and 27 January (except for Saturdays and Sundays). So, plan your time properly lah, hor? You won't want to head down to DBS to collect your notes while wearing your spring cleaning outfit. Each customer may reserve up to $800 for new notes and S1,400 for fit notes. Reservations are also subject to availability with a maximum of one reservation slot per customer. Pop-Up DBS ATMS For Fit & New Notes Available From 14 January But what if you miss the online reservation windows? Well, you can always try to head down to a pop-up ATM to withdraw your fit or new notes. And perhaps put in "time management" as your New Year's resolution next year too. From 14 January to 28 January, 72 pop-up DBS ATMs will be springing up across 48 locations in Singapore. Yes, you read that right — the pop-up ATMS will operate until 28 January, the eve of CNY. Perfect for all the procrastinators. The pop-up ATMS will operate from 10 am to 10 pm daily, and from 10 am to 1 pm on CNY Eve. You can find hourly updates on estimated queue wait times and seating options at selected pop-up ATMs here. Walk-Ins to DBS Branches for Fit & New Notes Only Available for Seniors and Customers with Disabilities Now, if you're asking: "Then can I walk-in to DBS branches to get my fit or new notes?" The answer is this — only customers aged 60 and above, as well as customers with disabilities, can do so. This includes both withdrawal or exchange services for fit and new notes at DBS branches. So, if you don't fall within those groups but die die want to give traditional cash ang baos, you should reserve the notes online or make time to head down to the pop-up ATMS lah. QR Ang Baos Available for Order Until 8 January Alternatively, if you want to be seen as the cool relative who gives digital ang baos instead of traditional cash ang baos, DBS has good news for you too. You can now start ordering DBS/POSB QR ang baos online. If you've yet to hear about QR ang baos, all we can say is this: have you been living under a rock? It's the Year of the Snake this CNY, but it seems like you're still living in the Year of the Horse or something. QR ang baos are physical-digital ang baos. When you order a QR ang bao, you will receive physical ang baos with a twist — each ang bao comes with a unique QR code. You can scan the QR code to "load" a cash value onto the ang bao before gifting the QR ang bao to your relatives, who can then scan the QR code to redeem the loaded amount. Anyone with a DBS PayLah! or PayNow-linked bank account can redeem a QR ang bao. With a QR ang bao, there's no need to go through the hassle of getting your hands on physical notes and having to slowly count them one by one anymore. You can manage up to 10 QR ang baos at once and track them using your DBS PayLah! app. The best part about these QR ang baos? Once you order them, they can be delivered straight to your doorstep. But of course, if you'd like to collect the QR ang baos from the DBS/POSB branches instead, you can too lah. With how prevalent online payment methods are these days, it actually makes sense to use QR ang baos. Kids nowadays might think that bank notes are just... some weird paper. Macam Monopoly money like that. These QR ang baos are also offered in more designs this CNY, where you can choose between the classic DBS ang bao or a new POSB version featuring the iconic squirrel mascot, Smiley. Image: DBS If that still doesn't entice you to use QR ang baos, wait till you hear about DBS's Abundance Giveaway. If you load a QR ang bao with at least $8 and keep your total cash withdrawals below $500 from 7 January to 18 February, you stand a chance to win up to $8,888. Specifically, eight people stand to win $8,888, while 1,388 people stand to win $88. Image: DBS Really heng, ong, huat sia. Who needs the Hong Bao Draw? Even if you're single and not giving out ang baos this CNY, you can still stand a chance to win a prize in the Abundance Giveaway. You just have to send a DBS PayLah! eGift of at least $8 and keep your total cash withdrawals below $500 from 7 January to 18 February. It's the perfect chance for you to finally pay that one friend the $10 you've owed them for months lah.