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Chinese New Year 2026 falls on 17 February, which means it's almost time for ang pow season
In Malaysia, banks typically start offering Chinese New Year banknote exchange services a few weeks ahead of the festive period, usually from mid to late January.
As with previous years, banks across Malaysia are expected to offer:
- Brand-new banknotes
- "Fit-for-gifting" or "good as new" notes, which are clean, flattened notes suitable for ang pow gifting and aimed at reducing wastage
Here's a list of banks and when they are giving out CNY notes:
AmBank
- New Chinese New Year banknotes available from 1 February
- Exchanges can be done over the counter at branches
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Standard Chartered Bank
- Customers may try exchanging from 3 February, subject to stock availability
- Expected to be for account holders
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Hong Leong Bank
- New notes available from 6 February to 16 February
- Service is only for Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Islamic Bank customers
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Public Bank
- Customers can exchange new notes at any Public Bank branch
- Service is not limited to account holders
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RHB Bank
- New banknotes were offered from 26 January to 29 January
- Customers were limited to up to RM10,000 per person
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Maybank
- No official announcement yet on the availability of new banknotes
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CIMB Bank
- No official announcement yet on the availability of new banknotes
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HSBC
- HSBC said it will not be offering new banknotes for Chinese New Year at the time of writing
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ATMs are usually part of the rollout
If you prefer to avoid queues, selected ATMs are often enabled to dispense RM10 notes during the CNY period.
Some banks may activate specific ATMs in high-traffic areas for festive withdrawals, while others may allow customers to reserve or plan their withdrawals ahead of time.
However, not all ATMs will dispense festive notes, and availability is typically limited, so it's best to rely on your bank's official channels for confirmed locations and timelines.
