More students in Singapore are saving money through the POSB Smart Buddy digital savings and payments programme, with an additional SGD 19 million set aside by primary and secondary students over the past year. This marks significant progress toward POSB’s goal of encouraging students to collectively save an extra SGD 35 million by 2026, a target announced last year.
POSB has expanded its Smart Buddy infrastructure to all participating junior colleges, Millennia Institute, secondary and primary schools after a three-year rollout. The bank expects to reach 320,000 students across 335 schools by the end of this year, up from 230,000 students in 253 schools last year.
The bank is also updating its Smart Buddy watch for students. The new version includes a 'Breathe' function that guides users through breathing exercises aimed at reducing stress and promoting mindfulness. Later this year, a new savings feature will be added to the POSB Smart Buddy mobile app, allowing users to allocate savings toward specific goals.
As part of efforts to enhance financial literacy, the curriculum now covers topics such as black swan events and economic shocks. Financial literacy experts at POSB aim to use real-world events like ongoing tariff wars as teaching moments to help students understand how unexpected developments can impact personal finances.
Calvin Ong, Head of Consumer Banking Group at DBS Singapore, said: "Good money habits take time to take root. This means ensuring children understand the value of money and making saving instinctive, so they are motivated to keep up with the habit in both good and uncertain times. Our ongoing efforts include equipping young learners with the right tools, providing age-appropriate education and offering them real-world opportunities to practise healthy money habits. This holistic approach underscores our broader mission to help raise the next generation of savers in Singapore, who will grow up to become digitally-savvy adults confident with their money.”
Since launching its national savings drive, POSB has engaged more than 28,000 students through assembly talks and workshops focused on financial literacy. In just two months since launching this year’s matched savings campaign, over 26,000 students have participated—collectively earning 570,000 digital stamps for saving part of their daily allowance via Smart Buddy. POSB has matched these efforts with SGD 285,000 in savings.
The POSB Smart Buddy programme began in 2017 as an in-school wearable technology solution for savings and payments. It started in only 19 schools but now allows students to make payments at school vendors as well as more than 10,000 NETS merchants across Singapore.
The latest third-generation Smart Buddy watch includes features such as guided breathing exercises for stress reduction and mindfulness; advanced fitness tracking with sports modes; magnetic contact charging for durability; quick QR pairing with the app; and a modern design intended for children of all ages.
For more information about POSB or its initiatives supporting community needs—including pioneering solutions across banking services—visit www.posb.com.sg.