Governments around the world are scrambling to backstop halted economies impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Just weeks ago, the global economy was full speed ahead but today with lockdowns, social distancing and face mask requirements in place, businesses are closed and everyone is suffering.
To combat the economic disaster engendered by the Coronavirus, the Singapore government announced last week a “one-off Solidarity Payment to help Singaporeans and their families.”
Announced by Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat, these payments will be directly distributed tomorrow (April 14th) to 9 out of 10 Singaporeans directly into their bank accounts.
The 10% the government cannot immediately distribute is due to not having bank account details of this segment of the population. Singapore has posted a form to capture the balance here.
Adult Singaporeans who have not provided bank account details by 23 April 2020 will receive the Solidarity Payment through cheques sent to their NRIC-registered addresses in stages from 30 April 2020 onwards.
Singapore Permanent Residents, including visa holders, who are not citizens can expect to receive $300 each.
The bigger question is will this be sufficient to make up for the virus-induced economic collapse?