News

We thank Ms See Swee Tin for her feedback on the withdrawal of government payouts on behalf of her sister ( , Dec 16). We appreciate the support provided by family members and caregivers like Ms See who help their family members access government support. We would like to clarify that Ms See can withdraw her sister’s payouts for the Assurance Package (AP) Cash and Cost-of-Living (COL) Special Payment via GovCash at an OCBC ATM without the need for her sister to be physically present. Caregivers need only produce a copy of the beneficiary’s NRIC, GovCash payment letter and a copy of the medical doctor’s certification to the OCBC staff that the beneficiary is unable to personally perform the ATM withdrawal. The GovBenefits team has reached out to Ms See to inform her of the same and allay her concerns. This arrangement for payment via GovCash is the same as the previous arrangement where caregivers encashed cheques on behalf of their beneficiaries. The need for certification is to safeguard the interest of persons with special needs. This information is available for caregivers on the . The primary mode of payment for government payouts such as the AP Cash and COL Special Payment is via PayNow-NRIC. For citizens who have not linked their NRICs to PayNow or provided their bank account details, GovCash is an alternative mode of payment. For such citizens, GovCash replaced cheques from 2022 to allow citizens to receive their benefits more quickly and conveniently, so that they no longer need to encash cheques over the bank counter or be restricted by bank operating hours. Director, Communications and Engagement Ministry of Finance