eGiro (eDDA) Platform to streamline the eDDA application process.

Department/Committee/Team: Accounts

Leaders: Gina Soh, Joo Yee

Member(s): Jeslin Wong, Mahesh & Ricky Yeo

1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing?

1) Manual and Paper-Based Process: The existing process relies heavily on paper forms and manual data entry, leading to frequent delays, higher error rates, and increased administrative workload. 2) Lack of Real-Time Authorization: Parents often wait at least two weeks for their GIRO arrangements to be processed and activated. This delay is mainly due to manual coordination and the back-and-forth between banks and billing organizations. 3) Application Rejection and Resubmission: Rejections from banks are common due to issues such as mismatched signatories or incorrect bank account information. As the process depends on hard copy submissions, any rejection requires the entire application cycle to be restarted, causing further delays and frustration. 4) Inconvenience and Environmental Impact: The process of printing, filling out, and submitting physical forms—whether in person or by mail—is inconvenient for parents and contributes to unnecessary paper waste. 5) Operational Inefficiency: Accounts staff spend considerable time verifying, processing, and manually tracking GIRO/DDA applications. In addition, bank details such as bank name, account holder name, and account number must be manually entered into each student’s record in the database. This not only increases the administrative workload but also heightens the risk of human error, data entry mistakes, and delays in processing. 6) Limited Transparency and Tracking: Parents and staff lack visibility into the status of submitted applications, resulting in frequent service enquiries and reduced confidence in the process. 7) Misalignment with Digital Expectations: In today’s digital-first environment, the current GIRO/DDA process feels outdated. Parents increasingly expect fast, seamless, and fully digital services which is something the existing system cannot provide.

2.  How had it been experimented and enacted?

The eGiro (eDDA) platform was first tested through a pilot phase using staff bank accounts within the Accounts Department. This internal trial allowed us to validate the full end-to-end setup process — from digital submission to bank approval — and to identify and resolve any technical or procedural issues in a controlled environment, with support from the external vendor and assistance from the ICT team in liaising with MOE on SSOE whitelisting requirements. Following the successful internal testing, the platform was fully rolled out to all 2025 Secondary 1 parents. The implementation was smooth, with a high success rate. Parents appreciated the convenience, faster processing time, and paperless submission process. Accounts staff experienced a significant reduction in manual workload, minimal data entry errors, and quicker turnaround from submission to activation, including seamless uploading of bank information into the SAP database. The platform has been operating smoothly since launch. It has eliminated the need for physical forms, enabled a fully paperless and streamlined GIRO/DDA setup process, and improved efficiency across departments. Positive feedback from both parents and staff has reinforced the success of the implementation. In addition, the digital process has helped save mailing costs and significantly reduced waiting times for application approvals.

3.  Which group(s) had benefited?

Students (Entire Cohort), Non-Teaching Staff (Selected Groups), Others

4.  What was the positive impact?

1) Improved User Experience: Parents found the digital process to be more convenient, faster, and user-friendly. The paperless submission eliminated the need for printing, mailing, or hand-delivering forms. 2) Faster Processing Time: Turnaround from submission to approval and activation was significantly shortened. What previously took up to two weeks can now be completed within a few working days — with approval obtained instantly, if the parent signs in to their internet banking and provides consent for the DDA creation. 3) Operational Efficiency: Accounts staff experienced a significant reduction in manual tasks, including verifying physical forms, entering bank details into individual student databases, and filing documents. This automation freed up time for more value-added activities. 4) Error Reduction: Digital submission has significantly reduced the risk of data entry errors and bank rejections due to issues such as mismatched signatories or incomplete information. Additionally, the eDDA platform enables Accounts staff to export parents’ bank details directly and upload them into the SAP accounting system under each student’s database, further minimizing manual input and ensuring data accuracy. 5) Paperless & Cost Savings: The shift to a paperless system contributed to environmental sustainability and saved costs on printing, mailing, and document storage. 6) Increased Transparency & Tracking: The digital process provided clearer tracking and status updates, reducing the number of parent enquiries and increasing overall confidence in the system. 7) Scalability & Standardisation: The platform is now the standard process for all new students and can be scaled for future intakes with minimal additional effort.

5.  What is a future need that this IdEas@work could meet?

Beyond students fee collection, the eGiro/eDDA platform has the potential to be extended for seconded staff and canteen vendors to facilitate recurring payments such as car park charges, rental fees, and utilities. This would create a consistent, digital, and paperless process for various types of internal and external collections. By leveraging the same eDDA infrastructure, schools can streamline multiple payment workflows, reduce manual processing across departments, and enhance financial control and transparency. This would further contribute to operational efficiency and support the move toward a fully digital finance ecosystem within schools.

Recommendation and Comments from panel:

Impact is currently for the Sec 1 cohort of students and their parents. Positive results and benefits are noted and the team is encouraged to continue working on this and expand it to other areas where eDDA is applicable, including the future needs that they have identified.

3.  Which group(s) had benefited?