“Just like carols signaling Christmas approaching, crowds of people exchanging their banknotes was a sign of the coming Lunar New Year,” said an official from an NH HongHyup Bank in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. “It certainly isn’t the case this year.” (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
CHEONGJU, South Korea, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korean Lunar New Year holiday starts Friday, and it usually means good news for children and young adults who visit their grandparents, aunts, and uncles for a bow in exchange for “lucky money”, cash gifts handed out as a token for a fruitful New Year.
A customary practice is that lucky money is given in brand new banknotes, leaving banks flocked with people exchanging their cash days before the holiday seasons begins. The practice has even urged banks to limit the amount of cash exchanged per person.
But this year is a little different, given the prolonged economic downturn, and new banknotes are not as scarce as they used to be, according to industry officials.
“Just like carols signaling Christmas approaching, crowds of people exchanging their banknotes was a sign of the coming Lunar New Year,” said an official from an NH HongHyup Bank in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. “It certainly isn’t the case this year.”
In fact, despite the regional offices setting a 300,000-won ($257) ceiling for banknote exchanges per person starting Monday, the number of customers making visits to swap their money dropped by more than 30 percent compared to last year, officials said.
“North Chungcheong outlets have 13 billion won worth of new banknotes this year, but we expect much to be left over given the current rate,” said an official from another local branch office. “It seems the economic slump is also affecting the lucky money tradition.”
Similarly, KEB Hana Bank’s central branch in Cheongju had almost no customers so far exchanging their bills with new ones, while a local Shinhan Bank official said that it has very few customers even inquiring about the exchangeable ceiling amount.
Meanwhile, there are bank officials who have a favorable view of the new trend, saying it will help to save the cost of printing new banknotes, which has been on an increase over recent years and even surpassed 150 billion won in 2016. The amount includes the cost of paper and ink, as well as forgery prevention features like security holograms.
“It may also be nice to hand out cleaner notes with some heartfelt wishful remarks, instead of getting too attached to fresh printed banknotes,” said a Bank of Korea official.
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
