The trend of printing QR codes to receive lucky money is popular.

Finding it reasonable, Hang, 27 years old, an office worker in Hanoi, contacted a shop specializing in making gifts and was instructed to download her QR code, send along a photo to make a hair clip for her daughter and a brooch for her son.

"It only took three days and 80,000 VND including shipping fee to receive the product. The printed product is sharp and every time I try it, I can 'swipe' money," Hang said.

Her whole group of friends made hairpins, key chains, and badges and are ready to wait for Tet to exchange new styles of lucky money.

In Ho Chi Minh City, 31-year-old Minh Nhat was surfing social media when he saw an advertisement for a facility that could print QR codes on phone cases with a New Year theme. Finding it interesting, he ordered a pair with his and his wife's bank account codes printed on them for convenient use as lucky money this Tet. With about 200,000 VND and a few days of waiting, he received a pair of eye-catching red cases with a "very sensitive" QR code.

"The economy has been sad all year. This Tet season, I have to rely on my children," the father of two joked.

In recent days, a photo of not receiving red envelopes or lucky money, just swiping the lucky money QR code has been spreading on social networks. The keyword "lucky money with QR code" has brought up thousands of results, showing that many people have "caught the trend".

Mr. Le Van Tien, 34 years old, was among them when he downloaded a photo and combined his two children's faces and QR code, then posted it on his personal page with the message: "This year, Tet is predicted to be cold and rainy. Aunts, uncles, and relatives near and far who don't know how to give lucky money to the children, just swipe the QR code in this photo and the children will receive it."

Giving lucky money by bank transfer via QR code is a trend that many people will apply during the Lunar New Year, with a variety of forms, from using hair clips, keychains to phone cases, clothes printed with QR codes, or simply sharing your code on your personal page.

Online, there are some groups selling hair clips printed with QR codes on demand with up to 10,000 members. The keyword "QR code lucky money" attracted more than 150,000 views on TikTok. On e-commerce platforms, there are dozens of shops selling hair clips, keychains, and phone cases printed with QR codes, with prices ranging from 30,000 VND to 70,000 VND depending on the store. Some shops sell thousands of products with hundreds of good reviews.

Ms. Trang Nhung, a person who prints hair clips, key chains, and pins with QR codes, said this trend originated in China, then spread to Vietnam from the beginning of 2023, and really exploded during Tet this year.

Without revealing the number of orders, Nhung said that customers have been showing interest since two months ago. A week ago, she had to stop accepting orders because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to keep up. "Many customers begged but I didn't dare accept them," she said.

Associate Professor Bui Xuan Dinh, Institute of Ethnology (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) said that lucky money originated from Chinese customs, with the meaning of expressing wishes for good things, luck, and health for children. Through research, in Vietnam, lucky money was initially formed only in merchants and manufacturers, they had profits and shared them with close children with the hope that their work would be successful.

"The principle of lucky money is new money, small denominations," said the associate professor.

According to cultural experts, receiving lucky money via QR code is a new form, and it is not possible to evaluate whether it is positive or negative, but the convenience can be clearly seen. People who want to give lucky money do not need to exchange new money, do not need to buy red envelopes, and do not need to go to the children's house to meet them.

This convenience is even greater when the person who wants to give lucky money does not have the conditions to visit each other, such as living far away, not being able to return home for Tet, or not being able to visit each other because of illness or being busy with work.

The lucky money given to children is deposited into the father's (or mother's) account, so children do not directly receive the envelope, do not curiously or hastily open it to see, thereby avoiding comparisons with others, public criticism and ridicule - which are offensive behaviors of children that have long been condemned every time Tet comes.

However, transferring lucky money is not in accordance with traditional customs. Because the person giving lucky money does not directly meet the child to express intimate feelings, encourage them if they have many achievements, and take the opportunity to give lucky money to advise them to study and practice.

"In my opinion, it should only be considered a new form of lucky money giving in the context of information technology development. We still need to try to maintain the practice of visiting each other during Tet and giving lucky money to children in person," said Mr. Dinh.

In case you cannot visit each other and have to transfer money, you should still give a moderate amount of money, not too much money. Parents need to inform their children which uncle, aunt, brother or sister is giving the gift, how much money, and what the message of encouragement is, so that the children know and are aware of receiving that affection. Parents need to manage that money and guide their children to use it for the right purpose and effectively.

Psychologist La Linh Nga (Hanoi) added that although giving lucky money by QR code transfer is convenient and fun, it can easily cause negative reactions and can be misunderstood as too pragmatic.

"Scanning QR codes will take away the beauty of giving lucky money, which is not having a red envelope full of spring colors and wishes and messages on the envelope. Money can be spent, but the red envelope and wishes can be kept forever," said Ms. Nga.

Furthermore, QR scanning is also not suitable for older people who are not familiar with technology.

According to psychologists, this trend should only be applied to groups of young and close people, mainly for fun. It should not be widely applied to other groups, which can lead to awkward situations. Parents should tell their children that scanning QR codes is mainly for fun and to experience how to use money online, and should emphasize to their children the meaning of giving lucky money and still respect the traditional way of giving lucky money.

Anh Hang still believes that scanning QR codes represents a modern lifestyle, follows trends and is more fun than the traditional way of giving lucky money.

For the past three years, she has rarely used cash. Every Tet holiday, she has to exchange new money, which is time-consuming and costly. When going out for Tet, she usually only carries light items, so she always has to calculate how much money she can bring, which is sometimes inconvenient to hold in her hand. "My children don't know how to preserve lucky money, sometimes they drop it without knowing where it is," she said.

Minh Nhat believes that lucky money is a debt that needs to be paid immediately. In previous years, there were times when his children went with their grandparents or went out and received lucky money but their parents were not there to give it back. Moreover, everyone was busy during Tet so they did not have the opportunity to meet, so he felt guilty for not being able to give lucky money to their children for a whole year, only hoping that when they met again next Tet, he would definitely give double lucky money to pay back.

"If giving lucky money via QR code was popular, I don't think I would have fallen into the above difficult situation," he said.