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Singapore Aims to Broaden Access to Digital Payments in Schools

The Ministry of Education (MOE) and a bank have announced a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) to widen the access to contactless and digital payments in all junior colleges and secondary and primary schools in Singapore. The bank will install digital payment infrastructure, including tap-and-pay terminals, in school canteens and bookstores. The tap-and-pay terminals to be installed can accept payments made through POSB Smart Buddy smartwatches or cards, as well as other payment modes, such as the School Smart Card and EZ-Link Card.

As per a MOE press release, the POSB Smart Buddy programme was designed to make digital payments and financial literacy simple, seamless, and accessible to all. Through this partnership with MOE, the bank aims to give every student the option to familiarise themselves with digital payments in their everyday lives while learning how to cultivate prudent saving and spending habits.

The organisation said it believes these skills will provide a solid foundation for achieving financial wellness when they transition to the next stage of their lives. According to a representative from MOE, the ministry recognises the growing use of e-payment in society. Having a cashless option in schools will provide students with an environment to use e-payment safely while enjoying the convenience and benefits of going cashless, such as faster transactions when making purchases.

The POSB Smart Buddy Programme was launched in 2017 and is the world’s first integrated in-school wearable digital savings and payment programme. Using the POSB Smart Buddy app, students and their parents can track their spending and saving patterns. Students can also use the app to set savings goals, while parents can manage their child’s spending by setting daily allowance limits and viewing their child’s purchases in real-time.

Since the founding of the programme, the bank has been collaborating with participating schools to provide a more integrated e-payment experience, such as using POSB Smart Buddy to assist schools in administering meal subsidies to students on financial assistance. Presently, some 40,000 students from about 80 primary and secondary schools are using POSB Smart Buddy smartwatches and applicable cards to make e-payments in schools, the release stated.

In a survey by the bank of more than six hundred parents, over 65% of respondents said POSB Smart Buddy has helped their children save and manage their expenses better. More than 70% of respondents also found that POSB Smart Buddy was a useful tool to help educate their children about savings and expenditure. Additionally, more than 90% of parents surveyed believed that it was important for their children to be familiar with using digital tools for daily activities as the world becomes increasingly digitalised.

Technology is an intrinsic part of most segments of the economy including education, finance, healthcare, entertainment, and e-commerce. As OpenGov Asia reported last year, the government launched the Digital for Life movement to bring together the community to help citizens embrace technology as a lifelong pursuit, to enrich their lives – so that no one is left behind in Singapore’s journey into the digital future. The movement promotes good digital habits as society engages in the digital domain. With the combined effort of industry players, community groups, government, and individuals, more Singaporeans will be able to enjoy a better quality of life through technology.

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

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SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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