The Portrait $10 Polymer note issued in 2004 was the first time Singapore used polymer for general circulation notes. Before this, the only time polymer was used was the 1990 SG25 commemorative note. Prefixes 0AA to 2AB are unique because they were the first prefixes issued for the system testing, the only notes in Singapore ever to go through such a widespread system testing, and the only note in our history where Prefixes 1AA to 9AA were all signed by one signatory, MAS Chairman Lee Hsien Loong. These first prefixes would become the frontrunners of all the Polymer circulation notes that would be issued by the government subsequently.

Before releasing Polymer notes into general use, the government wanted to make sure these notes could work properly with bank machines, ATMs, and cash deposit machines. Therefore, for this testing, 10 million notes were printed, with prefixes from 0AA to 9AA, with each prefix having 1 million pieces. However, many notes ended up damaged during the process, so three extra prefixes—0AB, 1AB, and 2AB—were printed to replace the damaged ones and maintain the 10 million target for the trial. This explains why a total of 13 prefixes were issued for the system testing.