Our nation has come a long way since the Smart Nation initiative was launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2014.

Digitalisation is undoubtedly an existential issue for a small resource-limited country like Singapore.

However, I have viewed with consternation how some government bodies have purely focused on making their mobile app the "centre of the universe".

In doing so, they are forgetting their core mission to serve all citizens and residents, not just the mobile-savvy ones.

"Smart Nation" is at this point looking a lot more like "Smart Device Nation".

Take, for example, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board. What I used to view as an exemplary organisation has strayed by focusing on members only through digital services.

All transaction-related matters require CPF members to first have an Internet or mobile banking account since payments are through PayNow QR or eNets. The new service by OCBC Bank for top-ups to customers' CPF accounts also requires Internet banking.

CPF services have been removed from channels like Singpost and AXS kiosks. My father, who used to make top-ups to his CPF account and my mother's CPF account with his Nets cards at AXS kiosks, is no longer able to do so.

When contacted, CPF customer service encouraged my father to open an Internet banking account.

I do hope that in our Smart Nation drive, citizens who are not digital-savvy are not left behind.

Chen Wencong