Singapore, 22 Feb 2018 - The Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC), working with key programme partner POSB and various merchant partners, has developed a new membership programme catered specifically to migrant workers in Singapore. The MWC-POSB Membership programme brings together various merchant partners to offer exclusive benefits and savings to migrant workers. This was announced by NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing at a partners’ breakfast this morning.
The MWC-POSB Membership programme is the first of its kind to bring together different lifestyle and commercial merchants to offer meaningful benefits targeted specifically at migrant workers in Singapore, and at no cost to them. Members can look forward to savings on services that they use on a daily basis, such as remittance, mobile talk time and travel. Up to 200,000 migrant workers could potentially benefit in the first year of the programme.Membership Benefits i) All-in-One Banking
ii) Remittance Services iii) Insurance Coverage iv) Telco Services v) Travel Perks for Home Leave vi) Mobility
Phased Approach to Get Migrant Workers on Board
The MWC-POSB Membership will be offered in two phases, targeting newly arrived migrant workers first. In this phase, new migrant workers who have their work permit applications submitted on or after 1 April 2018, and whose employers have opened a POSB bank account for them, will be issued an all-in-one MWC-POSB ATM and Membership card upon bank account activation.Said Mr Sim S Lim, DBS Singapore Country Head, “As the People’s Bank, POSB is committed to providing banking services to all communities in Singapore. We understand some of the challenges that migrant workers face when settling into a new country and we want to support them by providing them with access to essential banking and remittance services. Through the POSB jolly App, workers can monitor remotely when their salaries are being credited and they also have various options to make money remittances back to their home countries without incurring any additional fees. We are delighted to partner MWC in our drive to serve the migrant worker community – the unsung heroes who have also contributed to nation building.”
POSB and MWC are seeking to empower migrant workers with access to basic electronic banking services. By availing mobile banking services to them, the workers will be able to safekeep their own money whilst having easy access to it. This will enable workers to, at any time, remotely enquire if their salaries have been credited, giving them greater peace of mind.
The POSB jolly App also provides migrant workers with other banking services such as checking of transactions, topping up of prepaid SIM as well as remitting of money to their families in their home countries safely in a fast and simple manner. Following feedback from migrant workers, POSB collaborated with money transfer company MoneyGram to offer more remittance options to countries like Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Other than remitting to an overseas bank account in these countries, workers can also use the app to send money to predefined beneficiaries, who can then collect cash from their home countries’ MoneyGram cash collection points.
Yogesh Sangle, MoneyGram’s head of APAC, Middle East and South Asia, said, “We are delighted to partner with DBS/POSB to drive financial inclusion in the region. The new digital channel enables us to reach a greater customer base with a simple solution that can be operated on a basic feature phone. I hope that our customers will appreciate the convenience of this self-service remittance channel.”
The POSB jolly App was piloted in 2016 and there are now over 100,000 users.www.posb.com.sg/personal/deposits/for-foreigners/services-for-work-permit-holders
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About POSB A part of the DBS Group, POSB is the largest and oldest local bank in Singapore with over four million customers. Having served generations of Singaporeans for the past 140 years, it is known as the "People's Bank", and prides itself on being "neighbours first, bankers second".
With a good understanding of Singaporeans through the years, POSB offers products and services that are relevant to the savings, borrowing, investment and insurance needs of all Singaporeans. With over 50 branches conveniently located islandwide, and over 1,000 ATMs and Cash Acceptance Machines across the island, POSB's distribution net-work is the largest in Singapore.
POSB acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in each of its staff. For more information, please visit
www.posb.com.sg .
