POSB, Migrant Workers' Centre roll out membership programme with benefits, savings for migrant workers

POSB has teamed up with Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) to launch a new membership programme for migrant workers in Singapore that will offer them benefits and savings on services such as remittance, mobile talk time and travel.

The MWC-POSB Membership programme, unveiled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing on Thursday morning, will offer migrant workers exclusive benefits and savings on services that they use on a daily basis, such as remittance, mobile talk time and travel.

Up to 200,000 workers could benefit in the first year of the MWC-POSB Membership programme, unveiled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing on Thursday morning.

In this first of its kind programme, migrant workers will be able to access all-in-one banking services, said MWC and POSB in a joint statement.

They will receive a POSB ATM card that doubles-up as a Nets 2.0 transit-enabled card, and can use online banking services via the POSB jolly App, which includes a newly-enhanced remittance tool that allows migrant workers to easily remit money back to their home countries in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

A new, affordable Migrant Worker Group Insurance will also be made available under NTUC Income.

The MWC-POSB Membership programme will ride on the existing Work Pass Application system that allows employers to open POSB bank accounts for their migrant workers. POSB is the only local bank that performs this service within the Work Pass Application system.

The strategic partnership with POSB aims to strengthen MWC's push for mandatory electronic payment of salary for migrant workers, said the statement.

The membership progamme will be offered in two phases: first for newly-arrived migrant workers (those who have their work permit applications submitted on or after April 1, and whose employers have opened POSB bank account for them), followed by existing work permit holders with POSB bank accounts.

POSB and MWC said that by making mobile banking services available to migrant workers, they wil be able to safekeep their own money while 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," they said.

The POSB jolly app also provides migrant workers with other banking services that allow them to check transactions, top up prepaid SIM, as well as remit money to their home countries.

The app, piloted in 2016, now has over 100,000 users.