The Singaporean government has launched a national initiative that offers financial incentives to citizens who spend time reading books. The “ReadSG” movement, which officially began on 6 September 2026, aims to combat declining attention spans and a growing reliance on short-form digital content.
Under the five-year programme, which is patronised by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, residents can earn virtual coins by logging their reading sessions through a government-run digital platform called CrowdTaskSG. This platform is already used in the city-state to reward citizens for completing other civic activities, such as taking walks in local parks.
How the reward system works
The scheme operates on a strictly controlled points-per-minute basis. Participants earn 20 virtual coins for a 15-minute reading session. However, the system is designed to encourage long-term habit-building rather than rapid accumulation; users are limited to logging only one 15-minute session per day.
At the current exchange rate, 1,000 coins can be redeemed for S$1 (approximately £0.59). Given the daily cap, it would take a reader 50 days of consistent 15-minute sessions to earn the equivalent of 59p.
The National Library Board (NLB) introduced the cash-incentive model alongside a “Get It Now” digital library feature.
Tackling the “reading crisis”
Officials in Singapore describe the initiative as an attempt to rebuild “reading muscles.” The goal is to encourage citizens to move away from the high-frequency dopamine hits of social media and return to deeper, long-form literature.
The UK context: National Year of Reading 2026
The launch of the Singaporean scheme comes as the UK observes its own National Year of Reading 2026. While the British government has not yet adopted a direct “cash for books” model, the struggle to engage young people with literature is a shared concern.
Recent data from the National Literacy Trust indicates that reading enjoyment levels in the UK rose to 36.1% in 2026. While this represents a positive trend, it remains significantly lower than historical peaks, leaving education experts to monitor whether incentive-based models like Singapore’s could offer a viable blueprint for the UK.
Critics of the Singaporean model have questioned whether paying people to read might “crowd out” intrinsic motivation—the idea that people should read for pleasure or knowledge rather than for a small financial gain. However, proponents argue that in an era of intense digital distraction, any mechanism that successfully establishes a daily habit is a necessary intervention.