DBS Group Holdings Ltd

Annual Report 2024

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POSB
Highlights in 2024

Neighbours first, bankers second

As a key institution in Singapore, POSB has stayed true to our mission of being the “People’s Bank”. We take pride in serving generations of Singaporeans, from playing a key role in the development of Singapore, to creating a nationwide savings movement for children. In recent years, we ramped up digital and financial literacy in the community. Since our founding in 1877, we have been committed to providing pioneering financial solutions that cater to the evolving needs of Singaporeans. They include children, young adults, families, seniors and the community at large.

We remain committed to giving back to the community and uplifting the many individuals and families who have supported us over the years. We also hope to rally the support for heartlands businesses and enhance the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods.

Supporting the Heartlands through cashback rewards, discounts and community outreach programmes

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  • We offered over two million cashback rewards and discounts between July and December 2024 for purchases from heartland shops, wet markets, hawker stalls, and Sheng Siong supermarkets. In addition, the bank also offered a “Heartland Merchant Banking Package”, providing comprehensive financing support for small businesses.
  • Called the “POSB Support Our Heartlands” initiative, we sought to drive demand for products and services offered by small businesses and revitalise the heartlands.
  • Since the launch, heartland merchants, wet market and hawker stall owners have seen a 40% boost in their weekend earnings via PayLah! transactions.
  • Through the initiative, we also ramped up our community outreach efforts through digital and financial literacy workshops, which also included anti-scam education.
  • Through the DBS Foundation’s two-year collaboration with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) which ended in December 2024, we contributed SGD 1 million, which includes the government’s dollar-for dollar matching, to the Digital for Life movement.
  • Through our People of Purpose employee volunteer movement, we reached out to some 90,000 Singaporeans and residents via more than 300 workshops, including Getai edutainment roadshows and financial literacy games

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For children
POSB Smart Buddy Programme
  • We expanded the world’s first integrated in-school savings and payments programme to more than 70% of schools in Singapore. The POSB Smart Buddy programme, which was launched in 2017, creates a contactless payments ecosystem within the school environment to help cultivate sensible savings and spending habits among young students in an interactive, engaging manner. These students are then better equipped to achieve financial wellness when they transition to the next stage of their lives.
  • Under a partnership with the Ministry of Eduation, we will complete the installation of digital payment terminal in more than 330 primary, secondary schools, junior colleges/ Millennia Institute and special education (SPED) schools by this year (2025). We are also providing up to 400,000 students with smartwatches and cards for payments.
  • Today, some 230,000 students in 253 schools are using Smart Buddy smartwatches and/or smart cards for digital payments, up from the 170,000 students across 170 schools in 2023. The programme also supports needy students under the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme. To date, the number of students who are receiving meal subsidies via POSB Smart Buddy has doubled to some 30,000 students.
  • To further entrench the savings habit in schools, POSB launched a national savings drive, encouraging more than one in three primary and secondary students in Singapore to collectively save an additional SGD 35 million by 2026.
  • The initiative has been well-received, with 24,000 children collectively boosting their savings by nearly SGD 1 million since the launch. The programme also includes age appropriate educational content to support parents in reinforcing money management lessons at home.
  • To spark children’s interest in financial literacy, the bank committed to running workshops in at least 100 MOE primary and pre-schools that will benefit up to 50,000 students by 2026. This is in addition to the other interactive financial literacy programmes that POSB co-developed with partners such as visual education specialist EYEYAH! The bank also launched the POSB PAssion LitSavers Programme, aimed at instilling regular saving habits among children, including vulnerable and youths-atrisk. This three-year initiative seeks to equip 11,000 children, aged 5 to 16, with essential financial skills

 

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POSB PAssion Run for Kids
  • Singapore’s longest-running race of its kind, returned in 2024 with over 9,000 participants. Jointly organised by POSB and the People’s Association (PA), the event is still the largest charity kids run in Singapore.
  • The event raised some SGD 1 million for the POSB PAssion Kids Fund this year. To date, we have raised some SGD 13.6 million, with more than 948,000 children benefitting from 248 programmes.
For families and the community
  • We joined forces with iconic brand, Mandai Wildlife Group, to champion lifelong financial and environmental stewardship. This multi-year partnership reflects our shared commitment to inspiring individuals and families to adopt sustainable habits in managing finances while fostering an appreciation for wildlife and nature.
  • As part of this partnership, POSB’s financial literacy curriculum will be seamlessly integrated into new interactive learning journeys and workshops held within the wildlife parks at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve. The collaboration harnesses the vibrant living classrooms of Singapore Zoo, where visitors learn essential financial concepts as well as how they can help keep the planet healthy for themselves and the wildlife that they encounter in the parks.
  • Additionally, POSB cardmembers will enjoy exclusive privileges such as discounts, creating opportunities for meaningful family bonding and shared learning experiences.

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POSB PAssion Run for Kids
  • Singapore’s longest-running race of its kind, returned in 2024 with over 9,000 participants. Jointly organised by POSB and the People’s Association (PA), the event is still the largest charity kids run in Singapore.
  • The event raised some SGD 1 million for the POSB PAssion Kids Fund this year. To date, we have raised some SGD 13.6 million, with more than 948,000 children benefitting from 248 programmes.
FOR SENIORS, SPECIAL NEEDS INDIVIDUALS AND MIGRANT WORKERS
  • Besides deepening collaborations with agencies such as the IMDA, RSVP Singapore and PA, we also worked with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore to advance anti-scam education among seniors. For kids with special needs, we partnered community partners, SPED schools and social service agencies to organise regular financial literacy workshops. These sessions included bank branch visits to familiarise participants with banking services.
  • POSB remains the only bank to work with the Migrant Workers’ Centre and Centre for Domestic Employees to set up banking accounts for more than 900,000 migrant workers and foreign domestic workers. To deepen our engagement with them, we trained some 100 migrant and foreign domestic workers to become ambassadors to run digital literacy workshops for more than 9,000 migrant workers.