The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board strongly believes that seniors can embrace and even master mobile technology. Based on this, the Board sought out three archetypes among its staff to develop CPF Mobile, an inclusive app that everyone, including seniors, can easily use.

Officers with different skills and backgrounds worked together to create a new digital experience for CPF members. During the development process:

1. The product managers, or “hustlers”, drove the app’s vision and strategy. They rallied people and resources, and constantly strived for the app to grow in new areas.
2. The user experience (UX) designers, or “hipsters”, put themselves in the users’ shoes with thorough research and iterations, creating an easy and intuitive flow for using the app.
3. The developers, or “hackers”, cracked the code to marry functionality with design, bringing the app to life as a working, user-friendly, and engaging product ready for public use.

The app is available to all CPF members and has been downloaded on 1.4 million devices. CPF Mobile manages an average of 1.9 million transactions each month.

An Apt App for All

Made to be senior-friendly, the app incorporates inclusive design principles with features such as larger font sizes and buttons. Seniors found the interface straightforward, and easy to use and navigate.

Even after its launch, research and improvements continued for the CPF Mobile team. They listened to user feedback on the Apple App and Google Play stores as well as in person.

The CPF Mobile team is also consistently evaluating the effectiveness of features. This was apparent when the app's ‘privacy mode’ was introduced. This is a function that masks sensitive data, like account balances, so that users can browse the app in the presence of others, without worry.

This was found to be useful during many CPF roadshows, allowing CPF officers and volunteers to effectively guide seniors to use the app.

Great Spot for a Red Dot

In 2022, a jury of international design experts noted CPF Mobile’s inclusive design with a Red Dot Distinction under the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design. This global award recognises efforts that distinguish business activities through design.

Reflecting on the values which guided CPF Mobile to strive for inclusivity and receive this Red Dot Distinction, Ms Goh Jing Yeen, Director (Digital Services), CPF Board, shares:

“Living up to our cultural attributes of being customer-obsessed, we are always looking for areas where we can better meet our customers’ needs, even before they realise them.”

Going Digital Alongside Singapore

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is constantly evolving with the times to transform the taxpaying experience. Its ethos has remained the same since its inception: a commitment to serve taxpayers better. This has spurred the authority to keep ahead of the digital curve.

To mark its 30th anniversary in 2022, IRAS launched the IRAS Digital Gallery to showcase its key milestones: the history of taxes in Singapore, IRAS’ transformation through the decades, and the role the agency plays in nation-building.

The virtual space of the Digital Gallery replaces the physical gallery at Revenue House. Having a wholly virtual space was a logical step in keeping with IRAS’ digitalisation of its services and outreach.

Said Ms Kelly Wee, Director (Corporate Communications), IRAS: “In conceptualising the gallery, we stayed true to IRAS’ DNA of innovation. The Digital Gallery extends IRAS’ online reach and keeps pace with digital natives who form the future taxpaying demographic.”

Anatomy of a Gallery

While the idea of a virtual gallery was first raised in 2021, the Digital Gallery took a couple of months to complete in 2022. Working with a vendor, a team from IRAS adapted the content of the physical gallery to the digital space, adding interactive elements and a sleek design.

Besides keeping the text concise, the team also carefully curated the content to be informative and offer interesting data and fun facts to engage both young and older readers on the Singapore Tax Story.

Kelly added: “We retained information essential to the evolution of taxes in Singapore that people would find intriguing. This included digitising selected physical artefacts to immortalise them. We also focused on using relevant images for the purpose of visual storytelling to enhance the digital gallery experience.”

Now, the gallery provides easily digestible details on events as far back as Singapore’s founding in 1819 – and other key moments in our history where IRAS has played a role. Did you know that to date, $60.7 billion in collected taxes have gone towards Singapore’s progress?

With striking graphics, the IRAS Digital Gallery even has a game where you can build your own city. (Tip: You have only five minutes to play – don’t skimp on essential buildings such as schools.)

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