We have always played a key role in encouraging children to save for their future with initiatives such as the POSB National School Savings Campaign. Since the POSB Smart Buddy programme — the world’s first in-school savings and payments programme using wearable technology — was launched in 2017, an increasing number of schools and students have participated in the programme. As of end-2018, we have distributed over 17,000 free watches and built cashless systems in close to 50 schools.
We have also held an annual POSB-National Library Board (NLB) Kids’ Lit quiz for children aged 10 to 13 years old. Every year, more than 70 schools compete to answer quiz questions on popular children’s books ranging from the classics to comics. The competition is part of a series of POSB events held with NLB to inculcate the value of thrift through storytelling sessions. These events reached more than 10,000 primary school children.
Close to 10,000 participants joined us at the tenth anniversary edition of the POSB PAssion Run for Kids, which was marked by an inaugural evening race. A total of SGD 1 million was raised for the POSB PAssion Kids Fund, bringing the total amount raised to date to SGD 8.2 million. The fund has supported some 110 programmes that have benefitted more than 400,000 children to date.
Through our partnership with the People’s Association, we have reached out to seniors in the community to educate them on financial literacy, self-service banking, digital skills and active ageing. For example, POSB ran workshops that provided hands-on learning sessions, so seniors can better understand how to use self-service and digital banking services. We also organised mental wellness advocacy programmes to raise awareness around topics such as dementia awareness. The outreach programmes benefitted over 500 seniors in 2018.
We partnered the Info-communications Media Development Authority on their nationwide ePayment Journey initiative. POSB was part of six learning journeys, which educated more than 1,200 seniors on the use of digital tools. In addition, we are part of a seniors outreach programme, where POSB branch employees volunteer once a month at NTUC Health Nursing Homes near their branches in Geylang East, Chai Chee and Jurong West.
In May, we conducted a pilot of POSB Smart Senior — the world’s first holistic health and payment programme developed for seniors, with some 60 participants in Yishun.
In Singapore, we believe in building an inclusive society where everyone has access to banking services. POSB provides subsidised banking services to a large segment of customers. Fees are waived for many, including youths, seniors, national servicemen and people under public assistance schemes. We also work with Singapore Prison Service to waive fees for ex-offenders to help with their reintegration into society.
We have enhanced some of our branches to 24-hour digital service lobbies. Operable round the clock, these lobbies provide customers with more convenience, allowing them to conduct their transactions beyond regular banking hours. Besides cash transactions, customers are also able to conduct non-cash banking services via our Video Teller Machines (VTMs). Our VTMs are able to instantly replace debit cards and internet banking tokens, take instructions for passbook replacements, as well as offer face-to-face assistance from our customer service officers via live video streaming. Introduced in 2017, the VTMs have been very well-received and we have since installed 42 across the island.
In support of environmental sustainability, POSB participated in the North East Eco Kids Programme which is supported by the POSB PAssion Kids Fund and the North East Community Development Council. It consists of a series of workshops to inculcate environmental values in pre-schoolers within the North East district. More than 800 children and parents joined in the programme’s finale — the Just One Earth Day Carnival. During the event, POSB volunteers helped participants create their own self-watering plants, nature journals, natural cleaners, and even mud creatures!
In February, we worked with the Migrant Workers’ Centre and various merchant partners to develop a new membership programme catered specifically for migrant workers in Singapore. The programme is the first of its kind to bring together different merchants to offer meaningful benefits, free of cost, to migrant workers in Singapore. Up to 200,000 migrant workers could potentially benefit in the first year of the programme. POSB also partnered the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) to help newly-arrived and transferring foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to apply for a POSB Payroll account and CDE membership, as part of the work pass application process. The application comes with a NETS 2.0 Contactless Transit-enabled card. Today, we have some 30,000 POSB Payroll accounts opened for FDWs.