S'pore working on making govt services accessible to less digitally savvy elderly: GovTech CEO at DBS Foundation dialogue

As Singapore aims for all government services to be available digitally, seniors who are not as digitally savvy must also be able to access them, said Goh Wei Boon, the CEO of the Government Technology Agency (GovTech).

He was speaking on May 29 at a dialogue hosted by DBS Foundation on using technology to tackle the needs of ageing societies.

Striking a balance

Among government efforts to improve digital accessibility is to create a balance between technological and physical services, he said.

This can be seen in how people who face difficulties in redeeming CDC vouchers on the phone can get in-person assistance to print the vouchers out at community centres.

For people who have difficulties accessing SingPass, which is required for many government services, Singapore is exploring an option where they can delegate someone else to perform these services on their behalf.

An elderly parent could grant their child authority to make transactions for them and use their credentials, he said.

Fighting scams with AI

Another challenge of Singapore going digital is the increasing number of scams.

"Last year, we lost about S$1.1 billion to scams, and many of the victims were actually the elderly," Goh said.

Seniors lost the most money in scams

He added that seniors do not make up the biggest age group of scam victims, but they lost the most amount of money on average.

Singapore is looking to leverage AI to prevent scams, by using the technology to identify and block malicious websites.

Supporting impactful businesses

Since 2014, DBS Foundation has been supporting business that make a social impact.

The largest bank in Southeast Asia also unveiled at the dialogue the winners of the DBS Foundation's inaugural Impact Beyond Award, which was launched in 2024 to support businesses in their innovations to improve elder care.

The four recipients collectively received S$3 million in prize funding.

One of them is Singapore firm Buddy of Parents (BOP), whose parent company iWow Technology partnered with GovTech to develop the TraceTogether tokens during the Covid-19 pandemic.

BOP offers smart home solutions, including the BOP Button, a wireless alert device that can be mounted on a wall.

With the push of a button, seniors can be connected to a 24/7 emergency response centre via two-way voice calls.

The button has been installed in close to 10,000 public housing rental flats since 2019, and there are plans for further expansion.

BOP was awarded a funding of S$1 million by DBS Foundation, which will support the development of new products and increase its reach to vulnerable seniors.

The other prize winners are Evercare Health Limited from Hong Kong, Hua Kang Health Industry Group from China, and Life Circle Health Services from India.

Top image from DBS