The implementation is part the country’s digital government transformation and Smart Nation initiative. iProov and Toppan Ecquaria are the technology partners providing the biometric authentication tech behind this new service.

While iProov provides the biometric back-end to the system, Ecquaria provides the secure connection between the end user and the business or government system.

The two companies were selected after several months of testing and a vetting process to ensure the security of the system. With sensitive information at stake for the citizens, security and privacy are large concerns.

The new system will eliminate the need for passwords currently used by citizens when accessing government services.

They have dubbed the face verification ‘SingPass’. And it will now contain biometric facial recognition information for every resident of Singapore.

While this service may provide ease of access to hundreds of government and commercial services, there is the potential for privacy concerns.

The collection of this facial recognition data on every resident in the country also has the potential to be used to track and monitor those same individuals.

The Singapore government has already opened up the system to let corporations take advantage of SingPass. Many businesses, including banks are able to let citizens access their accounts using the system.

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Part of the aid advanced to aspiring couples who may have postponed their plans to have kids will include a Baby Bonus Cash Gift – a one-off support measure. Details of the program are yet to be made public, even though the existing baby bonus system provides eligible parents up to S$10,000 (an equivalent of £5,644) in benefits.

The state’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat admitted that some parents had decided not to have babies in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.

He spoke about the feedback received from the self-employed and the most vulnerable, which may have triggered the ‘pandemic baby bonus’ program.

According to him though, the decision to continue the support schemes will majorly rest on the country’s labor market situation as well as its economic outlook.

Low Fertility Rates; a stark contrast to its neighboring countries

Singapore is one of the most envied countries across Asia today. The state’s tropical weather is wonderful, while its economy has been constantly growing stronger. It also has some of the cleanest streets and the lowest crime rates in the world.

However, this country is equally infamous for its stressful working environment. Citizens constantly have to toil in order to keep up with the high cost of living.

And, for many Singaporeans, having babies amidst the ordinary tough times, further compounded by prevailing financial losses, psychological stresses, and job layoffs, isn’t possible.

Low population growth rates are not something new in Singapore. Unlike its immediate neighbors, Indonesia and the Philippines whose prospects of staggering growth in post-lockdown pregnancies are all, but evident, there is nothing positive to report.

Singapore has always had one of the lowest birth rates on the planet. So far, not even the heavy bonuses have helped resuscitate the situation.

The country’s fertility rate slumped to an eight-year low of 1.14 births per woman in 2018.

The post Singapore to Offer Pandemic Baby Bonus Cash to Boost Birth-Rate appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.