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In the era of COVID-19 and digital services, the Singpass app has been a loyal friend. The days of multiple long-passwords and missing tokens are fortunately but a distant memory. If you feel that way, you’re not alone.
Of the 4 million residents on Singpass, more than 2.5 million users are on the Singpass app with over 90% of them using the app at least once a month. The Singpass app is also one of the most downloaded apps in Singapore in 2020 and has tripled its user base in the past year. If you’re a responsible citizen, you’d know the app from all the times you used it for your SafeEntry check-ins (and flexing your ‘O’ level results).
This month though, everyone’s favourite government app has undergone a brand refresh. Besides the obvious logo change, the team has been working on making the app even more feature-packed and useful.
Here are the five new features that will most certainly make your life better.
Digital signing of contracts
Find physically signing papers a chore? So do we.
Printing a document, signing it, and then sourcing for an envelope to mail it off at the post office, only to have your signature rejected since you can’t remember which signature you used previously! – we’ve known people who’ve procrastinated on important tasks because of this!
Well, Singapore residents can now use Singpass to digitally sign documents, remotely authorise transactions, retrieve their personal information and conveniently access more services across sectors – ranging from banking and insurance to healthcare and charities. These are all done on one trusty Singpass app, without the use of passwords!
How will the digitalising of everyday transactions help? Well, apart from saving you trips to the post office, the streamlined processes will also result in quicker approvals for applications!
Ah! I know what you’re thinking about – will digital signatures and transactions truly be safe? Well, read on to find out.
Face Verification as a 2FA mode
The new Singpass features even more authentication methods to make digital transactions fuss-free for everyone.
Users with smartphones can use their Singpass app to verify their identity using their fingerprint, face or passcode when accessing services.
As for users without smartphones, you can still authenticate easily by using a face scan matched against the government’s biometric database when accessing services on a web or mobile browser using a camera-enabled device (e.g. computer with web camera or mobile phone with a front-facing camera). Of course, SMS Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) remains available.
Self-help kiosks at selected government agencies also support Face Verification for logins to government digital services. Face Verification is used as an additional layer of authentication to ascertain that the user is physically present during a transaction.
Digital IC
Are you a scatterbrain who lost your IC multiple times? Oof, those $300 replacement fees certainly must have hurt. Thanks to Singpass, misplacing your IC might soon be a thing of the past.
From September 2020, you carry your IC together within your smartphone in the Singpass app! It can be used as an alternative method of identity verification for certain purposes; for example, scanning your Digital IC barcode at kiosks located in libraries and polyclinics.
(That said, your physical IC is still needed for certain transactions)
Singpass Myinfo
You’d already know how Myinfo speeds things up for you, auto-filling all those pesky fields on online application forms. This is the result of agencies and businesses tapping on the Myinfo API to make the application faster and way less tedious.
Thanks to the Singpass application programming interfaces (API), businesses big and small can tap on a variety of Singpass features to enhance customer experiences and improve business efficiency.
Myinfo also powers your profile in your Singpass app, where you now have all your important information on hand. Rest assured it’s still as secure as authentication is required each time you view your profile.
If you ask us, that’s a win – faster and more efficient digital services means that you get to spend more time doing the stuff you love!
More accessible Government services
To ensure Singpass services are easy to use for everyone, key transactional pages on the Singpass website and app will be available in Singapore’s four official languages by end of this year.
Finally, for those who are overloaded with information watching those budget briefings, you can now check out the benefits you’re entitled to on your Singpass app. How easy!
