We are all neighbours

At a Glance

Being fondly known as the People’s Bank, POSB is committed to reach out to the community and make a difference to the lives of Singaporeans. Over the years, we have been supporting community development and promoting financial literacy to both young and old. On top of large scale community programmes organised by the bank, our Branch Managers and officers also play an active role in engaging the community within their neighbourhoods.

Key highlights:

Annual flagship event POSB PAssion Run for Kids
Closed to $13.7 million raised for POSB PAssion Kids Fund, benefitting nearly 900,000 children through 236 programmes
More than 300,000 benefited from digital literacy programmes
Up to 20 Active Neighbours serving at POSB branches

Digital Literacy for the CommunityBe the First in Line with POSB. Enjoy greater convenience when you bank online. Check out our quick guide here.

Promoting Financial Awareness in communityNav UniversitySince 2020, we kickstarted DBS NAV University at our branches to educate customers on topics around financial literacy. We availed our talks on virtual platforms so that our customers can continue being equipped with the knowledge required to make the best financial decisions during uncertain times.Check out our monthly events updated here.POSB works with strategic partners to reach out to the community to empower parents and children, including those with special needs, equipping them with financial literacy through face-to-face and/or virtual workshops.Primary School Assembly Talk and Recess Engagement with SmileyJoin Smiley, POSB's very own squirrel mascot, as we introduce kids to the value of money, savings concepts, healthy spending habits, digital payments and how they can take little steps towards sharing and sustainability through savings. POSB Financial Literacy Programmes with Smiley is specially curated for different age groups, such as pre-schools, primary schools and special education schools.

POSB Matched Savings ProgrammeBuilding financial literacy and inculcate good saving habits amongst underprivileged children and youths between 7 to 16 years old, POSB Matched Savings Programme encourages kids to save for more by matching every additional dollar saved.

“Money plays an important role in our lives as we need money in our daily activities. Hence, saving is an important habit to cultivate, helping us to grow money and increasing our buying power to get things that we dream for. The vouchers given were rewards towards my savings. I used it to buy groceries with my family and to get things that I want such as new stationeries and IT gadget. In conclusion, I am eager to save money to reach my goals now!”

Jervez Neo, 16 years old

Empowering the YoungPOSB PAssion Run for KidsJointly organised with the People’s Association (PA), POSB PAssion Run for Kids has been the longest-running race of its kind. This year’s race event, which also marks the 10th anniversary of the POSB PAssion Kids Fund, is packed with fun and meaningful activities for families and children to forge closer bonds while contributing to the community and environment.Since the fund’s inception, we have raised closed to S$13.7 million to date, which has supported nearly 900,000 children, including beneficiaries from low-income families, children with disabilities, and youths at risk, through more than 236 programmes that contribute towards social capital and community development.

Hear from our beneficiaries

Little Chef Cooking

“I learnt the names and uses of the different kitchen utensils, how ingredients should be used and the steps when cooking. I am happy to attend this programme with my brother, we will practice what we have learnt at home. So far, we have made bubble tea, kueh dadar and cheesecake! Looking forward to attending more of these sessions.”

Tan Zheng Long, 13 years old

YEAH Programme

“I’ve been on this programme since Primary 4. I am in Primary 6 this year. I like the YEAH Programme because I get to play Badminton with my friends and there are coaches who have helped me along the way. I also like the cooking class because I get to learn new things and get to make scrambled eggs at home. Since I joined YEAH, I have improved as a person through the character development classes.’

Izzati, 12 years old

YEAH Programme

‘This place is a great place go after school to do my homework, chill after a long day and meet new people. It has also helped me in my well-being, having coaches be my listening ear for whatever problems I’m facing and giving me constructive solutions. Moving forward, I hope to be a mentor, to give back to the community with whatever YEAH programme has provided me.’

Nurul Illyanis, 13 years old, continues the programme even after graduating

Supporting Student Development

Ngee Ann Polytechnic Graduand:

I am greatly honoured to receive the POSB Silver Medal. This award is a reflection of my commitment to my work and the steadfast help I have received from friends, family and lecturers. It symbolises the collective effort that has shaped my journey. My passion for banking and finance has enabled me to overcome multiple challenges, and this award is a big step forward in my career. It makes me more determined to keep pushing myself and giving back to the community that has helped me. I am sincerely grateful to POSB for the recognition and motivation it has given me to pursue my future goals. Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me, and I will continue to strive for excellence.

Ethan Choo Ruiheng, Diploma in Banking & Finance

Ngee Ann Polytechnic Graduand:

I would like to sincerely thank POSB for bestowing me the POSB Gold Medalist Award. The award is a testament to my journey in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and will be a constant reminder of what I came to achieve - to do well by doing good. I chose the banking & finance course in Ngee Ann Polytechnic as I knew I wanted a career in sustainable finance, where I could finance projects that are not only profitable, but also positively impactful to the environment and biodiversity. As I embark on my national service and university studies, I will continue to be a lifelong learner and always strive for self-improvement, so I can be better equipped at giving back to my community.

Keryel Khng Kai Le, Diploma in Banking & Finance

Singapore Polytechnic Graduand:

I am very thankful for this award because it serves as evidence of my hard work for the past three years. Clearly, I would not have been able to achieve this recognition without the help and support of my family, friends, and lecturers.

I chose this course as it is where my interest lies, for I have always wondered how the global market worked and the reasoning behind some economic actions taken by the government. I had been consistently working part-time to help ease my parents’ burden on my tuition fee. I have continued to do so even though it got more difficult to balance my work and studies in my third year. There are times when I really wanted to give up, but I am glad that I did not. By continuously pushing myself, I have become more resilient and discipline in both my studies and work.

I hope that in the future, I would continue to be diligent in learning, be it for academic purpose, or to upgrade my other skills. This award serves as a recognition to my diligence and a reminder to work hard and improve on myself.

Christy Elvany, Diploma in Banking and Finance, POSB Silver Medal Prize

Singapore Polytechnic Graduand:

“Many thanks to POSB for the award! My journey into finance began, when I was 16 years old. I was very fascinated by my uncle sitting in front of his trading desks, with multiple screens. Since then, I could not stop dreaming of becoming a finance professional and working in a reputable bank.

To make my dream come true, I decided to join SP which is well known for providing invaluable real-life experience through its extensive partnerships with some of the largest financial institutions in Singapore.

I am very honoured, knowing that I have received this medal prize, sponsored by POSB. This award has motivated and encouraged me to pursue a finance degree and then a career in the area of banking and finance.”

Teo Xin Jian, Diploma in Banking & Finance

Temasek Polytechnic Graduand:

“I want to express my gratitude for having the privilege of receiving the POSB Excellence Award. The award serves as a testament to my journey in the poly and certainly encourages me to continue to give back to society and upgrade myself.

Having come from the GCE N(A)-Level route, I was fortunate to secure a spot in the Polytechnic Foundation Program. While I was not confident about what I wanted to do, the diploma course attracted me due to the dual coverage, giving me a comprehensive understanding of different parts of a business.

I was able to run numerous financial literacy workshops to educate secondary school students and had the opportunity to interact with different stakeholders and the public. These experiences will surely pave it forward for my future contributions to the community.”

Yiong Jon Lon, Diploma in Accounting & Finance

POSB HeritageCheck out the POSB’s Heritage here

Past Archives

2019

Key highlights:

Annual flagship event POSB PAssion Run for Kids
Closed to $13 million raised for POSB PAssion Kids Fund, benefitting more than 869,000 children through 229 programmes
More than 300,000 benefited from digital literacy programmes
Up to 20 Active Neighbours serving at POSB branches

For more updates and developments, visit our Newsroom here: dbs.com/newsroom/

Empowering the Young

POSB PAssion Run for Kids

Jointly organised with the People’s Association (PA), POSB PAssion Run for Kids has been the annual largest charity kids run since 2008 and attracts over 10,000 participants. To date, over S$9.3 million has been raised for the POSB PAssion Kids Fund to support 155 programmes, reaching out to approximately 592,000 children.

Visit www.posb.com.sg/runforkids for more information.

Saving Programmes for children in need

POSB works closely with Community Development Councils (CDCs) to create savings programmes for the less privileged children through the POSB PAssion Kids Fund. Till date, close to 8,000 children from families in need have benefited from the programmes.


North-West POSB Matched Savings Programme	North-East Young Savers Programme

POSB-NLB Kids’ Lit Quiz

In collaboration with National Library Board (NLB), we organized the National Kids’ Lit Quiz to inculcate the habit of reading amongst children in Singapore. There are also exciting events such as the “POSB Literary Questions for Book Out! Quiz”, leading up to Kids Lit Quiz to cultivate the value of thrift at 22 libraries island-wide and exclusive POSB storytelling session at Tampines Regional Library. These are nail-biting competition with all 10 finalist fighting hard for that coveted top spot to represent Singapore for the World final. The World Final was held in Singapore for the first time on 12 July 2019, from 11 participating countries.


Team Singapore pit their wits against others to answer questions on children’s book ranging from classics to comics	Singapore hosted Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final for the first time in July 2019

Promoting Active Ageing

POSB Active Neighbours

This programme was introduced in 2009 with Council for Third Age (C3A) to promote active lifestyle and lifelong learning for retired seniors through part time work opportunities. The seniors who are above 45 years old are hired and trained as POSB’s digital ambassadors. They proactively encourage and assist customers from all walks of life, especially our seniors to experience and adopt digital banking into their daily lives, so that they can enjoy the convenience of going cashless. There are currently up to 80 Active Neighbours at our full banking POSB branches.

Provide Digital Literacy Training to Seniors

To ensure as many of our POSB senior customers are introduced to digital banking and are better equipped and prepared for the changing payment landscape, POSB has collaborated with various community partners such as Council for Third Age (C3A), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and People’s Association (PA) either via workshop-based training or popup booths in the community where our bank staff will introduce and provide hands-on guide for the seniors to build their confidence towards embarking onto their digital journey.

Our workshop "Introduction to Digital Banking" has since 2017 been Skills Future credit approved and seniors can approach any nearest Community Club or check for more information via www.onePA.gov.sg to register their interest for the workshop.


Classroom based training for seniors.	Booth styled approach to empower seniors.

Building The Community

Sharing the POSB story with Singapore

In celebration of POSB’s 140^th anniversary, a special POSB Gallery was curated to share POSB’s heritage and how the bank continues to be entrenched in the community and serve the needs of Singaporeans. The gallery roved around 10 heartland locations in 2017, and attracted over 170,000 visitorship. A digital version of the POSB Gallery was also developed to continue sharing the POSB story with Singapore. Visit www.posb.com.sg/virtualgallery to find out more.

Empowering persons with Special Needs

Since 2013, POSB has been conducting learning sessions for students with special needs to empower them, support inclusion and celebrate their abilities. Over 100 graduating students from Grace Orchard and Pathlight School have since participated and learnt how to perform basic banking transactions.


Workshop for Pathlight school at POSB Ang Mo Kio Central branch	Workshop for Grace Orchard at POSB Jurong Point branch

Raising Awareness of Dementia at POSB Branches

Prior to the latest report by https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/creating-dementia-inclusive-society-singapore, POSB has started taking steps to refresh our frontline bank staff with basic knowledge on dementia awareness through our external partners, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).

To further reinforce and ensure our frontline staff are consistent and are familiar with ABS Guidelines on Handling Customers who Lack Mental Capacity https://www.abs.org.sg/consumer-banking/consumers/handling-mental-capacity-act-lasting-powers-of-attorney-court-deputies, internal learning materials from KTPH and AIC are readily available in intranet, including a new eLearning on Dementia Awareness will be introduced as part of the annual refresher, replacing the face to face workshop.

Supporting Student Development

POSB sponsors various book prizes to recognise Polytechnic and ITE students who have excelled academically. The bank also engages students in meaningful community related projects that are relevant to their field of study, and provides opportunities to showcase these projects.

The bank has also collaborated with Ngee Ann Polytechnic, for POSB [i.Code] Challenge for secondary school students in August 2019. It provides exciting platform for students to discover and explore new and emerging IT Technologies. With the themes ‘I.Code to Contribute’, in line with Singapore Bicentennial, "From Singapore to Singaporean", it focuses on promoting social capital and community development.


Jeremy Soo, Country Head, Consumer Banking Group has been invited as a guest-of-honour for Nanyang Polytechnic, School of IT’s graduation ceremony on 7 May 2019.	Secondary school contestants showcasing their prototype at POSB [i.Code] Challenge

We are all neighbours

Hear from our beneficiaries

Supporting Student Development

Past Archives

Empowering the Young

POSB PAssion Run for Kids

Saving Programmes for children in need

POSB-NLB Kids’ Lit Quiz

Promoting Active Ageing

POSB Active Neighbours

Provide Digital Literacy Training to Seniors

Building The Community

Sharing the POSB story with Singapore

Empowering persons with Special Needs

Raising Awareness of Dementia at POSB Branches

Supporting Student Development

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