LettersAs the new year lai see goes digital, security guards and other service workers should not lose out

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Lunar New Year decorations and lai see red packets are displayed for sale in Sham Shui Po on January 15. The HKMA should work with banks to facilitate the electronic transfer of lai see money. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 6:55am, 23 Feb 2021Updated: 6:55am, 23 Feb 2021

As the city fought the pandemic during the Lunar New Year holiday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority encouraged members of the public to give and receive lai see electronically to reduce the need for human contact and lower the risk of infection. While family members and friends can exchange e-lai see easily via the Faster Payment System (FPS) using mobile phone numbers, it is less straightforward to hand out virtual red packets to the security guards in our gated communities because their phone numbers are usually unknown.

In response to my inquiry, the HKMA said security guards must first register for FPS and generate a QR code using a mobile banking app to receive e-lai see. As few security guards would feel comfortable showing their QR codes, the HKMA should work with banks in Hong Kong so that those who want to give e-lai see can generate QR codes instead.

The HKMA should also work with the Property Management Services Authority to encourage more security guards to register for FPS and explore the possibility of adopting the opt-out system to register all city residents with bank accounts for FPS.

I also urge the non-governmental organisations now involved in recycling red packets to join the efforts to promote e-lai see for the sake of the environment.

Simon Wang, Kowloon Tong

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