Year of the Dragon: Hong Kong banks use e-lai see to promote digital payment services, sign up new customers

Online-only lenders such as Mox Bank and WeLab Bank and traditional banks such as HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong) (BOCHK) and Citigroup have launched marketing campaigns to encourage customers to send money electronically with giveaways such as air miles, shopping vouchers and lucky draws.

Hongkongers hand out lai see on auspicious occasions such as weddings and Lunar New Year, which starts on February 10 this year. Many banks use the festival to sign up new customers.

“Lunar New Year is a good period for us, and that is why we have launched the e-lai see special promotion to encourage customers to use Mox for their transactions and spending,” said Barbaros Uygun, CEO of Mox, which is co-owned by Standard Chartered.

Mox customers who send e-lai see can share their customer referral codes with friends and family. When a referral becomes a customer, the bank rewards the existing customer and new signee with a cash bonus of as much as a few hundred dollars.

In the first two weeks of the Year of the Rabbit last year, the bank added 10 per cent more clients via its e-lai see promotion than it would have in a normal period, Uygun said.

Mox has more than 523,000 customers, the second highest among the eight virtual banks in the city after ZA Bank’s 700,000.

The bank’s other promotion to usher in the Year of the Dragon includes offering Asia Miles to customers who place time deposits.

Hongkongers exchanged an average of 350 million banknotes worth almost HK$10 billion (US$1.27 billion) during the two weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year holiday each year until 2020, according to the HKMA. Figures after 2020 were not available.

While physical lai see is limited to banknotes’ existing denominations that range from HK$20 to HK$1,000, e-lai see users can send large sums or some auspicious numbers, such as HK$168 and HK$888. The number eight in Chinese symbolises wealth.

Apart from promoting the use of e-lai see, WeLab has launched a campaign, which includes lucky draws and cash rebates, tied to its deposits and wealth management services for Lunar New Year.

“E-lai-see provide virtual banks with important brand visibility and it is also a very clever form of advertising,” said Benjamin Quinlan, CEO and managing ­partner of Quinlan & Associates, a Hong Kong-based consultancy.

“E-lai see appeals to younger, tech savvy customers who are well-accustomed to sending and receiving money via their mobile phones. This can be especially useful during Lunar New Year, given how much physical cash in specific denominations – and how many lai see packets – people need to typically carry around.”

13:11

How will your Chinese zodiac fare in the Year of the Dragon?

How will your Chinese zodiac fare in the Year of the Dragon?

HSBC, BOCHK and Citigroup are also resorting to lucky draws to encourage customers to send e-lai see and promote their mobile banking services. BOCHK and Citigroup are each offering a top prize of HK$8,888.

HSBC customers automatically enter a lucky draw for shopping vouchers worth up to HK$888 when they use the PayMe mobile payment app. A similar promotion last Lunar New Year led to an increase in merchant transactions by more than 300 per cent, with the bank distributing more than 1.1 million vouchers.

PayMe users sent more than 5.3 million e-lai see totalling HK$85 million during the Year of the Rabbit.

“Our mobile payment service is becoming increasingly popular,” said Florence Chan, deputy general manager at BOC Credit Card (International).

BOCHK reported a 20 per cent year on year increase in e-lai see sent via the BoC Pay app.

Chan said it was not just young customers who send e-lai see, but customers across all age groups, from some as young as 16 to those in their 90s. The largest single e-lai see last year was HK$10,000, while one customer sent 150 e-lai see.