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If you receive an unexpected QR angbao from an elderly relative this Chinese New Year, this may the reason.

About 250 seniors participated in digital literacy workshops held at 12 locations across the island on Jan. 14, 2023.

Part of efforts by the DBS Foundation and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore's (IMDA) to drive digital inclusivity, the hour-long workshops saw seniors learn about topics such as making cashless payments and avoiding potential scams.

Receiving one-on-one guidance, they were also given a timely introduction to cashless gifting methods like QR angbaos.

"Being a senior citizen, I think this was a good place to learn, and it has benefitted me very much. I learnt things such as how to use DBS PayLah! and PayNow," said 70-year-old Christine Chua.

"I think it’ll be more convenient when I’m buying things in future, or when I go to hawker centres or restaurants, since I won’t have to use cash anymore. I can just use digital payments now."

The first of 800 workshops

The workshops were facilitated by volunteers from DBS and the SG Digital Office.

They are the first of about 800 digital literacy workshops that will be held over the next to years with the aim of fostering digital inclusivity among different age and income groups and special needs individuals.

The collaboration between DBS Foundation and IMDA also includes a S$1 million donation, inclusive of dollar-for-dollar government matching to support digital inclusion projects and co-developing the digital literacy curriculum, among other efforts.

The partnership hopes to reach out to 100,000 Singaporeans and residents by the end of 2024 to help them embrace digital learning.

Top image from DBS