OCBC will partner community centres to reach a wider group of elderly.

Singapore, 15 June 2024 – OCBC is expanding its OCBC Digital Silvers Programme (华侨乐龄数码计划) to equip 10,000 “digitally shy” elderly by the end of 2024 with digital banking skills and scam prevention awareness. “Digitally shy” elderly are seniors who do not use much technology, including digital bank apps, due to a lack of confidence or feeling overwhelmed by the speed of changes. With this programme, they will learn to make QR payments, perform cardless cash withdrawals, and use anti-scam security features. These are three essential digital skills for today’s highly digitalised world.

To reach this ambitious target, OCBC will go beyond conducting workshops in its branches and proactively host mini carnivals and outreach activities at various community nodes such as community centres and Housing Board pavilions, as well as invite beneficiaries from various charities to attend them. OCBC has planned at least 5 such community events this year. So far, over 600 “digitally shy” elderly have participated in the pilot versions of these community events.

Bringing the workshops to community spaces near the homes of seniors makes the programme more accessible and less intimidating. Many seniors cut themselves off from banking as they do not know how to bank digitally, or do not wish to wait at bank branches. Those who continue to go to bank branches often do so for simple banking services available digitally, such as checking their account balances. The upsized plan is a marked acceleration from the programme’s current pace; since its launch in September 2022 to date, more than 3,600 seniors have gone through the programme.

OCBC is confident that the expanded programme will continue to yield good results with noticeable changes in participant behaviour within the first 60 days of attending the workshop. Among past OCBC participants, the proportion of customers who physically went to a branch for basic banking needs dropped by 76%. PayNow transactions among this group also surged by 28%. Additionally, none of the workshop participants reported being a victim of a scam to OCBC, demonstrating that the programme goes some way in increasing the resilience of elderly customers against scams.

OCBC officially kicked off this year’s programme with a carnival held at Bishan Community Club on 15 June 2024, which was attended by more than 800 seniors, including 240 beneficiaries from various charities. The workshop took place carnival-style, where there were different booths aimed at imparting specific digital banking skills. The three essential skills were imparted using a gamified approach. For example, participants learned how to scan-and-pay at check-out counters simulating a provision shop or played matching games to familiarise themselves with how love scams or police impersonation scams manifest.

Besides the different booths at the carnival, participants also learned digital banking tips in fireside chats featuring representatives from OCBC and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore as well as seniors who have acquired digital banking skills in their golden years.

Being inclusive, regardless of bank

One common request OCBC received from customers and community partners last year was to extend the workshop to all seniors, beyond its customers, as many had found it useful. To prepare for this year’s workshops, OCBC staff have created a mirror of the OCBC Digital app for non-OCBC customers, so they can familiarise themselves with the functions of a banking app even if they do not currently have one installed on their mobile phones.

OCBC has also ensured that OCBC branch staff and non-branch staff volunteers speak a variety of languages, including Mandarin, Chinese dialects and Bahasa Melayu, to provide personalised guidance at the workshops.

Mr Sunny Quek, Head of Global Consumer Financial Services, OCBC said: “The Digital Silvers programme is now in its third year, and we are heartened by the results of our consistent educational efforts. We are changing things up with more interactive events, to interest those who may be discouraged about digital banking, even if they are not our customers. We need to do this fast. As we firmly embrace the digital wave, the Bank has made it its responsibility that no one gets left on shore.”

To sign up for or discover the latest information on the upcoming workshops, please visit go.ocbc.com/digitalsilvers. Customers may also sign up for the workshops at any OCBC branch.