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Combining Tradition and Technology for Sustainability in Singapore

This image shows a HDB housing complex in Singapore

E-payment has been gaining steam in Singapore with the proliferation of services. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the growth of this form of payment as businesses and banks encouraged consumers to switch to e-payment for contactless transactions. Given the ubiquity of a smartphone, most of us should be no stranger to e-payment services, and many might even be avid users of such services.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has been encouraging the gifting of used notes or switching to e-hongbaos The reasons are twofold: to support sustainability and to prevent overcrowding in banks during the pandemic. While some people can understand the rationale of not visiting a crowded bank branch amid a pandemic, switching to e-hongbaos in the name of sustainability may be hard for some to justify in abandoning the cultural tradition.

While the current practice of gifting hongbaos (red envelope) is part of the tradition, the sustainability imperative should not be neglected. Most of the red packets will most likely end up in the incinerator because these tend not to be easily recyclable due to their designs and materials.

It is not just the red packets. The new notes that we painstakingly queue for, will only be used momentarily, after which they will become used notes that are deposited back to the banks at the end of the festive season. If the public continues to demand only new notes each Lunar New Year, the used notes have no opportunity to be recirculated.

In Singapore, as many as 100 million pieces of new notes are issued to meet the festive demand annually. The $2 denomination forms the bulk of new notes issued. Some of the used $2 notes that are deposited are reissued as good-as-new notes the following Lunar New Year. This recycling of used notes has helped to meet about 20 per cent of annual festive demand, reduced wastage and supported the environment.

Sustainability is not the only reason why people should be persuaded to give e-hongbaos a chance. The practical cost of printing paper currency is a key consideration too. Using available estimates, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced its 2021 currency operating budget to be US$1.1 billion. The cost of printing a U.S. one-dollar note is about 6.2 cents per note. This is just over 6% of the note’s monetary value.

Gifting of e-hongbaos is on the rise in Singapore. In 2021, a bank reported more than 32,000 QR Gift transactions through an app totalling $2 million, as compared to 18,000 totalling $660,000 in 2020 over the first two days of the Lunar New Year. Other banks also saw an upward trend in the transaction. Another bank had three times the increase in e-hongbao transactions.

E-hongbao is convenient as one does not need to visit the bank to queue up for new notes, or to deposit the money received after the festive season. A few clicks are all that is needed to give and receive. One also does not need to worry about misplacing the hongbaos.

As reported by OpenGov Asia, in addressing the digital economy in the country, Singapore will next link its national real-time payment system to Malaysia’s equivalent E-payment infrastructure, just weeks after announcing similar plans with India. The most recent collaboration will allow residents of the two neighbouring countries to transfer funds using their mobile phone numbers.

In addressing the digital economy in the country, Singapore will next link its national real-time payment system to Malaysia’s equivalent E-payment infrastructure, just weeks after announcing similar plans with India. The most recent collaboration will allow residents of the two neighbouring countries to transfer funds using their mobile phone numbers.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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