Do you remember when you used to count all the coins in your pocket in school, wondering what you can buy during recess where you'll end up splurging most of your money on unnecessary things in the school bookshop?
Ah, good times.
Singaporean kids in the near future won't exactly have this experience anymore, but you have to admit, their way is going to be more canggih than spare change. Their method, you ask? E-payment.
By 2025, most of the students in Singapore have the option of using e-payment for purchases made in school canteens and bookshops. That means instead of regular pocket money, these kids can use cards or smartwatches to buy their food for recess.
The Singaporean Ministry of Education recently signed a memorandum of understanding with DBS to expand the POSB Smart Buddy program across all primary and secondary schools in Singapore, along with junior colleges, and Millennia Institute by 2025.
The agreement is aimed at providing a safe environment for students to use e-payment in a world where cashless transactions are becoming the norm. Digital payment infrastructure will be installed in schools, so expect to see tap-and-pay terminals around the campus.
First launched in 2017, the program was implemented in 19 primary schools, which allowed about 6,000 students to use smartwatches to make purchases in their schools, as well as selected retailers.
As of now, roughly 40,000 students from 80 primary and secondary schools are making cashless transactions in school through Smart Buddy smartwatches or cards that are linked to their parents' bank account.
Teaching students to save.
With the idea that it's easier to overspend when you can't see the money itself, there are measures in place to help the student learn about saving habits.
The POSB Smart Buddy program allows both students and parents to track the spending and saving patterns of the student through a mobile app. And while parents no longer need to hand out pocket money every morning now, they can still set a daily allowance limit for their child to avoid overspending.
As for the students, they can set their own saving goals on the app, which will hopefully teach them responsibility about handling money, while also familiarizing them with the new norm of cashless transactions.
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Cover image sourced from DBS / CNA.
