POSB programme helps students learn about digital payment

I thank Ms Huang Shoon Lheng for her feedback (Experience of handling cash priceless for the young; Aug 21).

Student participation in the POSB Smart Buddy programme is entirely optional, and requires parents' active involvement.

The programme is meant to provide a digital payment option in schools and students can still pay in cash.

It also gives students the tools to make digital payments in a controlled environment, under parental supervision.

The main aim of the POSB Smart Buddy programme is to help students learn how to save and manage their allowance in an increasingly digital world; daily allowance limits are set by parents to discourage overspending, and the accompanying app helps parents observe how their child spends and saves.

Students can also set different savings goals in the app.

POSB Smart Buddy is designed to be as inclusive as possible and is free for all who use it.

Students on the Financial Assistance Scheme can have subsidies and allowances automatically credited, if they join the programme.

The programme was rigorously tested in schools for over a year, and the product is the result of many parents' feedback.

The programme has also been found to encourage meaningful parent-child conversations on spending and saving.

POSB, as the People's Bank, is committed to its mission of helping to instil the right values in children - whether it be via physical or digital engagements.

Jeremy Soo

Head of Consumer Banking Group (Singapore)

DBS Bank

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 25, 2017, with the headline POSB programme helps students learn about digital payment. Subscribe