For many of us, the world of online banking is familiar.
All you really need is a phone and a working internet connection.
But despite the convenience brought by online banking, some admittedly struggle to jump on the digital bandwagon.
This includes some that are close to our hearts, like our parents or our grandparents.
We spoke to a few senior Singaporeans to get their thoughts on why online banking remains difficult for them.
Here is what they said.
Difficult to find basic banking functions
A 56-year-old relative of a colleague raised a practical concern: it was difficult to find all the relevant “basic functions” for online banking on the mobile app.
He lamented that it was easier to navigate and find the most common banking services on the desktop version instead, such as PayNow and local transfer, compared to mobile.
He explains: “It’s not that difficult, but I only use a few functions. More user-friendly would be nice – it would be easier if they put the important stuff on the main screen so it’s easier to access, like scheduled payments.
Fear of making erroneous transactions
Another 72-year-old grandparent explained his fear of making the wrong transaction, accidentally pressing the wrong button or making other unknowing missteps.
This fear in turn outweighed the perceived benefits of online banking; while she regretted that she could only pay her friends back in cash or in person, she also said that for her the risk was “just not worth it”.
This sentiment was echoed by a friend’s 86-year-old grandparent, who uses the online banking web platform, but not the apps.
He shared that he rarely transacts online as well, or if he did, it was with the help of his relatives.
“The only transaction I made was with my granddaughter. I go online [web platform] to check my account balance, but I don’t make any transactions.
Fear of “getting hacked”
A 65-year-old relative of a colleague also shared that he generally doesn’t trust the security of online banking networks, due to “too much hacking”.
He feared that one day a hacker might gain access to his account, which would cause him to wake up with all his lost money.
To prevent this from happening, he preferred to carry out his transactions in person, for example by personally signing standing instruction forms (the old fashioned way, by going to the bank), or by using hard cash and stumbling.
Forgot your password
An 86-year-old grandparent also expressed understandable concern – that he would accidentally forget his password and have his account locked out.
These difficulties navigating the technology of online banking apps (e.g. how can one even print online bank statements from your phone?) make him less confident to venture into the world of online banking .
When asked how highly he would rate a (hypothetical) online banking experience, he gave it a 7/10.
Online banking advice
So the question is: can we simplify online banking for our seniors?
After all, it seems that most senior Singaporeans are aware of this option and have the tools to use it (smartphone/mobile phone), but are still held back for various reasons.
To address the needs and fears of those who might want to try online banking but just don’t know how, here are some tips and tricks to help you navigate the platform.
Entering the educational part of the story:
1. POSB single mode
For the pesky problem of having too many functions, too much confusion, simple POSB mode can help you.
Simple Mode allows customers to add their six most commonly used online banking services directly to their app homepage, allowing for faster navigation.
Text and icons are also enlarged for better readability.
To switch from “Full Mode” to “Simple Mode”, simply login to your POSB Digibank app and select “Quick Links” from the homepage.
You will be prompted to “customize your app” by selecting “Simple Mode”.
If you want, you can click “Customize” to rearrange the six services in your preferred order.
Press “Save” to complete customization.
There you go, you’re working on a simplified version of the online mobile banking experience.
2. Use PayNow
This brings us to the next point – how to use perhaps the most useful feature of online banking – PayNow.
PayNow allows users to transfer money directly and immediately to friends and family, and if you follow the steps step by step, the navigation is much less daunting.
You can find the option on the homepage of the POSB Digibank app.
And once you click, you will be guided to a page that displays one of four ways to transfer your money.
To minimize the chances of making a mistaken transfer, a simple rule is to always select the “PayNow to Mobile” option, as this prompts you to always choose a recipient from your contact list.
All you have to do is select the bank account you want to transfer money from, the amount you want to transfer and press “Next”.
Check if the transfer details are correct (you will be able to see who you are giving money to), then click “Transfer Now”.
The last page will display a record of your entire transaction.
3. Password protection and account security
For account security, or the issue of remembering their password, it gets a little trickier.
For the former, POSB recommends using a unique combination of numbers (six to nine digits) when forming one’s password – for example 122822 – to mitigate hacking.
Naturally, this might still be too complicated for the less savvy elder to remember, let alone navigate, so a simpler alternative would be to get the kids (or grandkids) to help do some setup. unique facial identity verification, or fingerprint verification for login and transactions.
This is how most of us don’t have to remember our passwords anymore.
It would also be safer, because it’s harder for bad guys to impersonate a face or fingerprint on a T. Remember to save biometrics only on personal devices.
If all else fails, you can always check this site for more information.
Top image via POSB Facebook
This POSB sponsored article prompted the writer to order bubble tea.
