POSB Smart Buddy Watch: Track Your Kids Savings & Fitness Levels
To help the new generation of kids understand money, POSB launched a new initiative – POSB Smart Buddy Programme to help parents teach their kids about savings and spendings. In addition, it came with the additional benefits to help track how active our kids are during their daily activities. This is the world’s first in-school wearable tech savings and payments program.
For many of us who grew up in Singapore, you might know the POSB primary school savings program. This Smart Buddy Program is a modern version to teach today’s primary school kids the value of savings.
Track your kids’ spending habits, teach them how to save, and monitor their fitness levels. All within one device — the POSB Smart Buddy Watch.
Say goodbye to anxious days when they leave their allowance at home or have insufficient funds in school. No more interrogating sessions to make your kids account for every cent they spent. Now, you can track their spending on your phone each time they make a payment at the canteen or bookshop. With the Smart Buddy Watch, your kids can also make payments at selected retailers such as Cheers and Popular Bookstore and any retailers that accept the updated version of Nets’ contactless payment technology.
The Smart Buddy Watch — Unboxed & Review
We were excited to review the watch. After submitting our online application, we received the Smartwatch in the mail a week later.
Inside the lovely baby-blue colored box is a personalized letter addressed to your child. They tore it open with excitement because they “have mail”!! There they found a chipped card with their name on it and of course the watch.
A replica of the iPhone watch with its square face, the Smart Buddy Watch has a rubbery dark blue strap. It is light and easy on the skin, but there is only one color choice now. The watch is splash & water-resistant but NOT waterproof, so using it in the shower or swimming with it is strongly discouraged.
Parents who are worried about loss or theft of the watch can rest assured as there is a button on your app that allows you to disable the account. So whoever picks up the watch will not have access to the money or information on the chip. Plus, the app has a built-in mechanism that allows you to personalize the watch to your child. This will help the watch be returned to the rightful owner.
Setting up the watch is easy.
First, place the chip inside the watch. Next, download the Smart Buddy app on your phone and key in the chip number found on the card, and fill in your child’s health profile (height & weight) so that it can track the steps your child makes per day. You can have the profiles of multiple children in this app.
Finally, personalize the app by placing your kids’ photos in the app, their daily allowances, and their savings goals for big-ticket items like Nintendo Switch or in my daughter’s case, more slime materials.
Remember to sync their watches each evening to capture their data. We forgot to do it the first 2 nights and realize that the data was not captured properly. After that, we were more vigilant in doing so. The numbers also kept the kids excited to be physically active as they could track their own fitness levels. They were very motivated to ensure they meet their numbers each day. I thought it was an excellent stimulus to get the kids moving on their feet instead of being sedentary.
What We Love About The Smart Buddy Watch!
I love that I have information about my kids’ spending habits. For example WHERE and HOW my girl is spending her money (eg. luxury items like stationery or staples like food). This way, I can monitor and guide her spending habits. I also love that I can increase or decrease her allowance remotely via the app on my phone.
I love that the Smart Buddy Watch teaches her about financial literacy. She learns to allocate her allowance to save for her big-ticket items and she has to practice patience while waiting for her money to grow. Plus, she earns a commission (stamp) whenever she arrives at a milestone in her savings plan. It’s a win-win on all fronts.
Another fave factor about this Smart Buddy Watch is the tracking ability of the kids’ fitness levels. We love that we could see how active the kids were over the week and plan our activities accordingly.
The POSB Smart Buddy Programme currently focuses on primary school students (aged 7 to 12). At the time of this post, the programme is available at 19 primary schools, including Bedok Green Primary, Raffles Girls’ Primary and Henry Park Primary.
If you wish your child’s school to have this program, you can invite them to join the POSB Smart Buddy Programme or email the bank to approach the school.
How Can You Get the Watch?
You can get this watch through invitations from participating schools.
For more information on the POSB Smart Buddy Watch, visit their website: www.posb.com.sg/smartbuddy.
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