Year of the Snake: Hong Kong firms use lai see envelopes as marketing tool in digital era
Hong Kong and its tech-savvy residents may have fully embraced digital banking, but companies continue to offer unique and fancy red envelopes, or lai see packets, to clients as an inexpensive way to promote their brand and business.
HSBC and ICBC (Asia) have taken the opportunity presented by the Year of the Snake starting on Wednesday to promote key milestones. Hong Kong's largest bank is celebrating its 160th anniversary, while ICBC completes 25 years in the city. The Hong Kong Gold Exchange, meanwhile, is using lai see to promote its rebranding after being known as the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society for the last 114 years.
HSBC has created a special limited edition set of lai see envelopes featuring the bank's iconic lions and depictions of its Hong Kong headquarters across different eras.
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"Despite the emergence of e-lai see, we have observed a consistent demand for lai see envelopes, which tend to run out quickly," said Cheuk Shum, head of marketing for wealth and personal banking at HSBC Hong Kong, noting that the bank also offers e-lai see services through its PayMe and mobile phone apps.
HSBC's limited edition lai see box set to celebrate its 160th anniversary in the Year of the Snake. Photo: Handout alt=HSBC's limited edition lai see box set to celebrate its 160th anniversary in the Year of the Snake. Photo: Handout>
Shum added lai see envelopes were an important tradition as they allowed people to personally greet friends and family and wish them well.
It is a Chinese tradition for married couples to give lai see, or blessing money, to unmarried friends and family members, including children, during the first seven days of the Lunar New Year.
Many of HSBC's lai see box sets are now being flogged on the online marketplace Carousell, ranging from a few hundred dollars to as much as HK$3,800 (US$488).
ICBC has incorporated a special 25th-anniversary logo on its lai see - a golden serpent symbol signifying blessings and prosperity.
Hong Kong Gold Exchange has sent out more than 60,000 lai see packets with its new logo to bestow a "house full of gold and silver" for its users.
"Sending out lai see packets for the Lunar New Year has come at an opportune time to promote our rebranding since January 1," said Cherry Lai, a spokeswoman for the exchange. "Each lai see packet costs only about HK$1, an extremely cost-effective way to market ourselves and to send new year blessings to our contacts."
UBS, Standard Chartered, Julius Baer, Morgan Stanley, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and others have preferred to use other symbols of good fortune, such as flowers, fish and birds for their lai see envelopes, because any unused zodiac animal packet cannot be reused for another 12 years.
Still, others such as KGI Asia, Mastercard, Janus Henderson and Bank of Communications Hong Kong have adopted the snake on their lai see to reflect the zodiac animal of the year.
Many banks have also sent exclusive lai see handbags and gift boxes to their high-net-worth customers, as wealth management now accounts for a significant chunk of business.
Some non-financial companies have used lai see envelopes to promote their brands. The red packet of HK Express, the budget arm of Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways, features its signature "Gotta Go" tagline symbolising progress and upward momentum.
While the tradition of physical lai see remains strong, e-lai see has taken off in recent years, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
"The HKMA has been collaborating closely with banks to promote the use of e-lai see via the Faster Payment System [FPS]," an HKMA spokesman said. "There has been a significant increase in the number of transactions processed via FPS over the past few years."
ZA Bank, an online-only lender, said its customers had sent 420,000 e-lai see requests until the end of last year since the digital function was introduced in 2022.
Since the HKMA encouraged the public to use e-lai see in 2021, the annual quantity of new banknotes issued by the three note-issuing banks has decreased by around 25 per cent compared with 2019-2020, according to the city's de facto central bank.
HSBC said the demand for new banknotes this Lunar New Year increased by 50 per cent from a year earlier during the first three days of the service starting from January 14.
Bank of China said the demand for new banknotes was stable, with HK$20 and HK$50 bills the most popular.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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