New Notes for CNY 2021: Where and How To Get Them This New Year

Chinese New Year’s (CNY) going to be really different this year.

With only eight people allowed at one household per visit, we can forget about gathering around and yelling ‘HUAT AH!’ while tossing our yu sheng.

Know what else’s different?

The way we can get our hands on those spanking new notes for our red packets.

No, we cannot just do walk-ins to exchange for new notes this year. 

If you’re one who still prefers handing physical red packets to your relatives, here are some things you have to take note when withdrawing or exchanging for new notes this CNY.

TL;DR: Withdrawing or Exchanging for New Notes for CNY 2021

1) You have to pre-book an appointment at DBS, OCBC or UOB’s online reservation system before heading to the bank.

2) No walk-ins at banks allowed, other than for people aged 60 and above or those with disabilities.

3) For online reservations, each customer is only entitled to one reservation slot throughout the CNY period. You will also not be able to amend your booking after the reservation is made.

4) To get new notes without pre-booking, there will be pop-up ATMs which will be disbursing new or good-as-new notes at various locations across Singapore.

5) Customers are limited to a maximum of three withdrawals at these ATMs with a limited number of new notes.

6) Pop-up ATMs are available from 25 Jan 2021 to 10 Feb 2021 (10am to 10pm), and 11 Feb 2021 (10am to 1pm).

DBS/POSB Customers

Online Reservation

Online reservations will be available from 18 to 23 Jan 2021, 24 Jan 2021 to 5 Feb 2021, and reservations must be made at least two days before the collection date.

Do note that you MUST make a reservation before heading down to the bank for collection of new notes.

Here’s how to make a reservation:

Step 1: Visit DBS’s secured online notes reservation site.

Step 2: Key in your ATM/Debit/Credit Card Number and PIN for verification. (Login with last 4 digits of card number and your card pin)

Step 3: Indicate the number of DBS QR Gift Pack(s) and the desired quantity of notes for $2, $10, $50 (notes denomination).

Step 4: Confirm your details and selection. You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours upon submitting your request.

Step 5: Collect your notes at the selected branch during the specified date and time.

Reservation service will be available from 9am on:

• 18 Jan to 23 Jan 2021 for collection dates between 25 to 29 Jan 2021
• 24 Jan to 5 Feb 2021 for collection dates between 26 Jan to 10 Feb 2021

Important note: Please bring along your NRIC/Passport and ATM or debit card for the collection, and ensure that there are sufficient funds in your account at the point of collection.

For online reservations, each customer is only entitled to one reservation slot throughout the CNY period.

You will also not be able to amend your booking after the reservation is made.

Notes reservation will be cancelled if the reserved notes are not collected on the date and location that was selected.

Note: Due to COVID-19 measures, age declaration is required due to the allocation of time slots available.

Age Group	Number of slots per branch
59 and below	60
60 and above	40

Pop-Up ATM

There will be pop-up ATMs available at Community Clubs from 25 Jan 2021 to 10 Feb 2021 (10am to 10pm), and 11 Feb 2021 (10am to 1pm).

Do note that the last replenishment of new notes will be made on 11 Feb 2021.

These ATMs will not be in service outside operating hours due to COVID-19 measures.

Each customer can make up to 3 withdrawals during this period, and you can use any DBS/POSB card that is linked to your deposit accounts to withdraw these notes.

These ATMs are also customised to dispense note denominations of $2, $10 and $50.

There are 20 locations for ATMs at Community Clubs:

Pop-up ATMs at Community Clubs
1	Yuhua Community Club	90 Boon Lay Way 609958
2	Keat Hong Community Club	2 Choa Chu Kang Loop 689687
3	Yew Tee Community Club	20 Choa Chu Kang Street 52 689286
4	Henderson Community Club	500 Bukit Merah View 159682
5	Macpherson Community Club	400 Paya Lebar Way 379131
6	Toa Payoh Central Community Club	93 Toa Payoh Central 319194
7	Chong Pang Community Club	21 Yishun Ring Road 768667
8	Bedok Community Club	850 New Upper Changi Road 467352
9	Teck Ghee Community Club	861 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 569734
10	Tampines West Community Club	5 Tampines Avenue 3 529705
11	Whampoa Community Club	300 Whampoa Drive 327737
12	Bukit Batok East Community Club	23 Bukit Batok East Avenue 4 659841
13	Taman Jurong Community Club	1 Yung Sheng Road 618495
14	Woodland Galaxy Community Club	31 Woodlands Avenue 6 738991
15	Ci Yuan Community Club	51 Hougang Avenue 9 538776
16	Sengkang Community Club	2 Sengkang Square 545025
17	Changi Simei Community Club	10 Simei Street 2 529915
18	Bukit Panjang Community Club	8 Pending road 678295
19	Clementi Community Club	220 Clementi Avenue 4 129880
20	Pasir Ris Elias Community Club	93 Pasir Ris Drive 3 519498

And 21 digital lobbies:

Digital Lobby
1	POSB Ang Mo Kio North Digital Lobby	Blk 629 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-1018 560629
2	POSB Canberra CC Digital Lobby	2 Sembawang Crescent #01-02 Canberra CC 757632
3	POSB Nee Soon South Digital Lobby	30 Yishun Street 81 #01-04 Nee Soon South CC 768455
4	POSB Toa Payoh North Digital Lobby	Blk 107 Toa Payoh Lor 1 #01-266 310107
5	POSB Yishun North Digital Lobby	Blk 290 Yishun St 22 #01-401 760290
6	SCAPE Digital Lobby	2 Orchard Link #02-07/08 237978
7	Aperia Digital Lobby	12 Kallang Ave #01-53A Aperia Mall 339511
8	POSB Bedok North Digital Lobby	Blk 539 Bedok North St 3 #01-647 Bedok North Digital Lobby 460539
9	DBS Raffles Link	One Raffles Link #B1-28/30 Citylink Mall 039393
10	POSB Potong Pasir CC Digital Lobby	6 Potong Pasir Ave 2 #01-02 Potong Pasir CC 358361
11	POSB SUTD	20 Dover Drive Singapore University of Technology & Design Canteen 138682
12	POSB Tampines Hub Digital Lobby	51 Tampines Avenue 4, Unit #B1-20, Tampines Hub 529684
13	POSB Boon Lay Digital Lobby	10 Boon Lay Place #01-06 Boon Lay CC 649882
14	POSB Bukit Batok West Digital Lobby	153 Bukit Batok West Street 11 #01-290/292 650153
15	POSB Great World City	1 Kim Seng Promenade #01-126 Great World City 237994
16	POSB Nanyang Estate Digital Lobby	Blk 960 Jurong West St 92 #01-174 640960
17	POSB West Coast CC Digital Lobby	2 Clementi West St 2 #01-06 West Coast CC 129605
18	POSB Zhenghua CC Digital Lobby	1 Segar Road #01-06 Zhenghua CC 677738
19	POSB Rivervale Plaza Digital Lobby	118 Rivervale Dr #01-21 540118
20	Taman Jurong Community Club	1 Yung Sheng Road 618495
21	Macpherson Community Club	400 Paya Lebar Way 379131

Withdrawal Denominations & Options

New notes exchange limit is set at $2,000.

Denominations	Amount Options
$2 (New)	$0, $200, $400, $600 or $800 (Good as new notes will be given if you reserve above $400)
$10	$0, $500, $1000
$50	$0, $500, $1000

For pop-up ATMs, there is a maximum of 3 withdrawals throughout the CNY period.

Options	Amount & Denominations
Option 1	$100 = $2 x 50 pcs
Option 2	$300 = $10 x 30 pcs
Option 3	$500 = $50 x 10 pcs
Option 4	$600 = $10 x 20 pcs + $50 x 8 pcs

Branch Walk-Ins (for Customers Above 60 Years Old or People With Disabilities)

For branch walk-ins, new notes exchange at the outlets will begin from 25 Jan 2021 to 11 Feb 2021.

This is for customers who are aged above 60 years old or people with disabilities.

DBS or POSB branches:

Central	East	Southwest
DBS Ang Mo Kio Central Branch	DBS Kovan Branch	DBS Bukit Timah Branch
DBS MBFC Branch	DBS Parkway Parade Branch	DBS Choa Chu Kang Branch
DBS Plaza Singapura Branch	DBS Towner Road Branch	DBS Clementi Central Branch
DBS Thomson Branch	POSB Bedok Central Branch	DBS HarbourFront Branch
DBS Toa Payoh Branch	POSB Hougang Central Branch	POSB Bukit Batok Central Branch
DBS Woodlands Branch	POSB Paya Lebar Branch	POSB Buona Vista Branch
POSB Kampung Admiralty Branch	POSB Serangoon Central Branch	POSB Jurong East Central Branch
POSB Toa Payoh Central Branch	POSB Tampines Central Branch	POSB Tiong Bahru Branch
POSB Yishun Central Branch	POSB Waterway Point Branch	POSB Bukit Panjang Branch
DBS South Bridge Branch	POSB White Sands Branch	DBS Westgate Branch
DBS Bishan Branch	POSB Compass One Branch	POSB Jurong West Branch
DBS Suntec City Branch	DBS Tampines One Branch	POSB Yew Tee Branch
DBS Yishun West Branch	POSB East Point Branch	POSB Jurong Point Branch
POSB Tanjong Pagar Branch
POSB Square 2 Branch

OCBC Customers

OCBC will also have its online reservation service from 18 Jan 2021 to 6 Feb 2021.

Online Reservation

Customers will be required to enter their ATM, Credit or Debit Card number and card PIN for verification, followed by 2-factor authentication using an SMS OTP (sent to the mobile number registered with an OCBC Online Banking account).

Available Reservation Dates

18 to 22 Jan 2021: For collection between 25 to 27 Jan 2021

23 Jan 2021 to 6 Feb 2021: For collection 3 to 5 days after booking, subject to the availability of slots

No changes to the reservation details may be made after making the online reservation.

Denominations & Options

The overall limit for the exchange of notes is $1,200.

Denominations	Amount Options
$2 (Available in multiples of 100)	$200
$10 (Available in multiples of 10)	$500
$50 (Available in multiples of 2)	$1,200
Maximum amount: Up to $1,200 only

Note: You may receive good-as-new $2 notes in place of new $2 notes, for the denominations reserved.

UOB Customers

UOB customers can also reserve new notes from 18 Jan 2021 onwards.

Customers can access the new notes reservation form via UOB Personal Internet Banking or UOB Mighty by following these 3 steps:

1) Key in name and contact details

2) Select notes denominations

3) Select preferred branch, date and time of appointment

Do note that you need a UOB Personal Internet Banking or UOB Mighty account before being able to do so.

The online reservation slots are available on a first-come-first-serve basis, which means that you gotta be quick if you would like to select your preferred branch, date or time slot.

Withdrawal Denominations & Options

Denominations	Amount Options
$2	$200 only
$10	Up to $500 (in multiples of $100)
$50	Up to $500 (in multiples of $100)
Maximum amount: Up to $1,200 only

Reservation service will be available on:

• 18 Jan to 23 Jan 2021 for collection dates between 25 to 29 Jan 2021
• 24 Jan to 5 Feb 2021 for collection dates between 26 Jan to 10 Feb 2021

Maybank Singapore Customers

Maybank is also allowing its customers to reserve their  “LNY Fortune Bundle” (new notes) online.

How to place an order:

1. Login to Maybank Online Banking.

2. Go to the “Settings” tab and select “Lunar New Year Fortune Bundle”.

3. Key in the quantity of Fortune Bundles that you wish to reserve.

4. Select your preferred “Collection Branch”. Collect your Fortune Bundle(s) from your preferred Collection Branch with your identification documents (e.g. NRIC) and a copy of the email confirmation.

5. Collect your Fortune Bundle(s) from your preferred Collection Branch with your identification documents (e.g. NRIC) and a copy of the email confirmation.

Each individual can place up to 2 Lunar New Year Fortune Bundles during the entire CNY period.

Your account will be debited immediately upon the confirmation of the transaction. Therefore, no cancellation or amendment can be made.

Similarly, the LNY Fortune Bundle can be collected from the selected branch 2 business days from the order date, between 25 Jan 2021 to 10 Feb 2021.

If the order is not collected, it will be cancelled and the funds will be credited back to the debiting account on 11 Feb 2021.

Giving Red Packets this Chinese New Year 2021

We all know that CNY this year will be slightly different, and even our new notes collection is not spared.

If you’re too lazy to follow the steps above….

Why not check out e-hongbaos instead?

Given how 330 tonnes of carbon emissions are generated by the production of new notes for each Chinese New Year… 🤯

You can help to save the Earth by doing this little switch this New Year!

You can also do your Li Chun money depositing online this year too. Find out what’s your Best Auspicious 2021 Li Chun Timing here

Happy Chinese New Year! 

 

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About Xue Miao

A millennial who is learning to adult. She doesn't believe in the rat race and hopes to live on a farm someday.

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