Date: For Parliament Sitting on 4 August 2026
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Ms Cassandra Lee, West Coast-Jurong West GRC
Questions
Ms Cassandra Lee: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether MAS has assessed the adequacy and geographical distribution of cash deposit machines, particularly in neighbourhood centres with significant numbers of seniors, hawkers and small businesses that continue to handle cash.
Ms Cassandra Lee: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether MAS monitors disparities in access to physical banking services across residential estates; and (b) if so, what indicators does it use to determine when regulatory intervention or industry coordination is warranted.
Mr Jackson Lam: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government has assessed how payment preferences among seniors are changing over time; (b) how these findings are incorporated into digital inclusion policies; and (c) whether differentiated approaches are needed for essential services frequently used by seniors.
Answer by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, and Chairman of MAS:
1. My response will cover the questions raised by Ms Cassandra Lee in today’s Order Paper, as well as the question filed by Mr Jackson Lam for tomorrow’s Sitting.
2. While more seniors are becoming comfortable with digital banking, many still rely on cash and face-to-face banking. We therefore take a two-pronged approach to help seniors adopt digital services while ensuring physical banking services remain accessible.
3. Banks provide hands-on, guided support to seniors via community events to strengthen their digital literacy and skills, and improved the usability of their digital banking platforms. Features such as larger fonts, clearer visuals, intuitive navigation and multi-lingual interfaces make digital banking applications easier for seniors. Seniors can also learn how to use digital services for everyday tasks, like online payments and mobile banking at SG Digital Community Hubs islandwide.
4. Even as digital banking becomes more widely adopted, we recognise that physical banking services remain important. While MAS does not prescribe where banks should locate their branches, ATMs or cash deposit machines, we monitor overall accessibility of banking services and work with industry where necessary to address significant gaps, taking into account retail and corporate customer demand, as well as local demographics. As part of these efforts, the local banks recently committed to providing an ATM, branch, or NETS cashpoint within 500 metres of every HDB block by 2027.
5. MAS will continue working closely with the banking sector to maintain convenient access to physical banking services for those who need them, while helping consumers and businesses benefit from the convenience and efficiency of digital banking services.
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