The POSB Smart Buddy programme uses portable and wearable devices such as a watch or a student card and modifies them, so they have contactless payment capabilities. The programme also comes with a mobile app which tracks their expenses and savings in real-time, and allows parents to pre-set daily allowances for students.

For the trial, some 130 students from Anchor Green Primary School received a customised POSB watch, while some 60 students from St. Joseph’s Institution Junior (SJIJ) tested their modified student concession card. Students were able to use these items to make contactless purchases in their school canteen or bookstore, and assign excess cash to a savings accounts

In Anchor Green Primary, the schools’ canteen and bookstore vendors were set up with contactless terminals with which students could use their POSB Smart Buddy watches to make purchases. A kiosk was also set up at the school canteen, allowing students to scan their watches so they can instantly check on their remaining allowance for the day.

Students who are given partial access to the accompanying app by parents can also check on their savings and spending balances. In addition, the POSB Smart Buddy watch also doubles as a fitness tracker, helping the child track their steps and calories burnt for the day.

Jeremy Soo, managing director and head of consumer banking group (Singapore), DBS Bank believes SmartBuddy has a great number of potential applications, including the ability to track diets, pay for transport charges, and GPS tracking for security purpose.

He adds: "The positive feedback we’ve received on POSB Smart Buddy has been tremendous and look forward to rolling it out to even more schools in future as part of the POSB National School Savings Campaign.”