DBS launches programmable money live pilot for Singapore government vouchers

Singaporean multinational banking firm, DBS, has partnered with Open Government Product (OGP) to unveil the pilot of purpose-bound money-based vouchers. 

In its Monday press release, the banking leader said issuing those vouchers would be done on a blockchain using tokenized Singapore dollars. As per reports, this will help enhance live transactions with numerous merchants.

According to the announcement, the unveiling of the vouchers manifested as one of the ongoing Project Orchid spearheaded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), a regulator in the country. Reportedly, the agency aims to advance the technological mechanism for a programmable digital Singapore dollar.

Occasioned by the exploration of blockchain technology, issuers can efficiently program and execute the distribution and usage of vouchers to selected recipients. Meanwhile, DBS is expected to issue digital Singapore dollars. On the other hand, open Government Products, a governmental technical team, will facilitate the functionalities of smart contracts.

1,000 customers and six merchants to participate in the pilot 

DBS hinted that the Pilot would cover about 1,000 consumers and six merchants and run for four weeks.

“DBS believes that its live pilot with Open Government Products will be useful in scenarios such as the Community Development Council voucher scheme where Singaporean households receive CDC vouchers to help cope with rising inflation and cost of living,” the statement reads.

Worth noting, the purpose-bound money-based vouchers offer numerous benefits to SMEs and businesses with retail shopfronts. For instance, these SMEs enjoy instant settlement, payments, and collections with their banks whenever their customers use these vouchers. 

This thus helps to increase cash flow and save time on administrative backend tasks. In the past, it typically took one to two days for the money to be credited to merchants’ accounts using the existing method.