The hassle of going to different websites and apps to access government services or completing multiple forms for transactions will be a thing of the past, with an upgraded version of a government app.
The Moments Of Life (MOL) app, which currently caters to young parents and the elderly, will be enhanced later this year to provide personalised services for more Singaporeans, said Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.
The Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) said these services will include those relating to job hunting, tax management and Central Provident Fund matters, as well as those for Singaporeans travelling and living overseas.
"As we expand the suite of services we provide through MOL, we will continue to improve the app, through constant user testing and citizen engagement," Dr Balakrishnan told Parliament.
Speaking before him, Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) had asked how Smart Nation efforts like MOL can be personalised, and Mr Cedric Foo (Pioneer) had asked how the efforts have benefited citizens.
The upgraded MOL app will draw upon the Government's information of Singaporeans to show information and services that would be most relevant to them, said SNDGO.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, an SNDGO spokesman said that after doing research, interviews were done with Singaporeans to understand what they liked and did not like about the app. SNDGO decided to improve and enhance the app after receiving feedback that Singaporeans were finding it hard to find services they needed, or to understand what was available among the roughly 100 government apps.
Dr Balakrishnan said: "We will continue to improve our digital services for both citizens and businesses. At the last count, we have about 100 government apps.
"I don't take joy in that number because citizens often tell me: 'There's so many, which one do I use?' To remedy this, we will systematically streamline the number of apps in our digital offerings."
When asked how the app was tested for quality, an SNDGO spokesman said an initial prototype was developed to address the concerns from Singaporeans and was tested among nearly 500 people.
The app development team then used its research findings to fine-tune MOL - first launched in 2018 - further.
The updated MOL will have a new look and interface to help citizens better navigate the app. It will also have a dashboard to give a one-stop overview of government information for quick reference and tracking, and a notifications inbox so users can stay updated. There will also be an exploration page for citizens to search easily for all government information and services.
Since its launch, MOL has been the one-stop app for parents to register the birth of their child and apply for the Baby Bonus and child library membership. Application for these three services is done through just one form.
Before this, birth registration was paper-based, and done at hospitals or the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority building. Separate forms were also needed.
SNDGO said yesterday the app, which has been downloaded 120,000 times, has managed to cut the time spent on such applications from 60 minutes to 15 minutes.
It added that two-thirds of eligible births - where one of the parents is a Singapore citizen - are now registered through the app.
In the past year, almost 20,000 births were registered using MOL, Dr Balakrishnan said. Last September, the app was expanded to promote active ageing among seniors by including services such as an events finder, and a personalised information page that shows the benefits they qualify for, such as the Merdeka Generation Package or the GST Voucher Scheme.
