- Kyle Chua
Students In All Singapore Schools Can Use Cashless Payments For Meals, Books By 2025
By 2025, Singaporean parents might no longer have to worry about giving their children allowance everyday before sending them off to school.
DBS and the Ministry of Education (MOE) have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding that expands the POSB Smart Buddy programme across all primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and Millennia Institute in the coming years.
The plan is to install more tap-and-pay terminals in different school canteens and bookstores to accommodate cashless payment methods, said DBS in a press release. This then allows students to use their free POSB Smart Buddy cards and watches, along with the School Smart Card and EZ-Link cards to make purchases.
The Smart Buddy programme, which DBS has been running since 2017, is currently being used by about 40,000 students from over 80 primary and secondary schools. That number is expected to grow to 340 in the next three years, with the expansion being announced.
“It is incumbent on us to ensure that no one is left behind in this digital age,” said Mr Jeremy Soo, DBS Head of Consumer Banking in Singapore.
MOE believes that students must also learn to go cashless as the adoption and use of digital payment methods continue to grow in society. And the school provides the safest environment for them to learn about these new developments.
“Through this partnership with MOE, we aim to give every student the option to familiarise themselves with using digital payments in their everyday lives, while learning how to cultivate prudent savings and spending habits,” added Mr Soo.
Outside of the convenience of a cashless experience and fast transactions, the Smart Buddy programme also teaches students how to better manage their money. Their spending and saving patterns are tracked via a mobile app, which they can also use to set goals. Parents, meanwhile, can set spending limits and check on their children’s purchases in real-time.
By 2025, all students in Singapore schools will be able to buy meals and books via e-payment systems.
DBS and the Ministry of Education (MOE) have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding that expands the POSB Smart Buddy programme across all primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and Millennia Institute in the next three and a half years.
The plan is to reportedly build more tap-and-pay terminals in schools around the country.