Singapore Is Paying People to Put Down Their Phones and Read Books

Singapore’s National Library Board launched ReadSG on 6 September 2026, a five-year national reading campaign that converts logged reading time into virtual coins redeemable for cash. The initiative has drawn attention from governments and educators worldwide who are watching to see whether a small financial reward can reshape phone-centric habits.

How the scheme works

Participants log at least 15 minutes of reading on GovTech’s CrowdTaskSG platform and earn 20 virtual coins. The conversion rate is fixed: 1,000 coins equal S$1, putting the value of one daily session at roughly S$0.02. Only one session per day counts toward the balance, so 50 consecutive days of reading earn a single Singapore dollar.

The National Library Board has described the payout as deliberately modest — a behavioural nudge rather than an income stream, according to coverage in multiple outlets.

Read for Good

A parallel track called Read for Good adds a communal dimension to the campaign. The programme targets 7.5 million cumulative reading minutes across all participants; reaching that collective goal would unlock a charitable donation of up to S$150,000, according to Indulge Express.

A decade of literacy efforts

ReadSG builds on nearly a decade of national literacy initiatives. It follows Singapore’s National Reading Movement, launched in 2016, and earlier programmes. The National Library Board has described the current campaign as still in a pilot phase, with plans to refine it based on user feedback, the Straits Times reported.

Critics say the financial reward is too small to attract anyone who was not already inclined to read. Supporters point to behavioural economics research suggesting that even trivial incentives can help establish a new habit when participation friction stays low. The coin mechanic borrows from the familiar language of fitness apps and loyalty programmes.

Why it matters beyond Singapore

Governments and educators are watching ReadSG as an early test of whether gamification and micropayments can shift public behaviour at population scale. Libraries and education agencies globally are looking for tools that can compete with a notification feed. If the campaign generates strong participation data over its five-year run, it may become a case study for other cities — and the behavioural data could inform policymakers trying to understand what genuinely pulls people away from their screens.