What if 15 minutes with a book earned you a small reward? Singapore is testing that idea through ReadSG, a five-year national movement launched by the National Library Board in September 2026.
The challenge does not literally pay an hourly wage for reading. Instead, it turns the habit into a game. Participants record one reading session of at least 15 minutes each day on CrowdTask SG. A completed session earns 20 virtual coins, along with experience points and progress toward a reading streak. The platform also lets readers set personal goals.
The coins have a modest purchasing value. One thousand coins are worth S$1 at participating merchants, so a reader would need to log 50 daily sessions to reach that amount. The reward is clearly too small to serve as income. Its real job is to make starting feel easy and returning the next day feel satisfying.
That matters in an age of constant digital distraction. People can now scroll through hundreds of headlines, watch short videos or receive instant summaries, yet spend less time engaging deeply with longer texts. A 2024 survey found that only 28 percent of adults in Singapore read books every week. When news and online articles were included, however, the figure rose to about nine in ten. The problem, then, may not be a lack of reading altogether, but the difficulty of giving sustained attention to a book.
ReadSG lowers the barrier by asking for only 15 minutes, roughly enough time for a short commute, a lunch break or the quiet minutes before bed. The challenge is being piloted through the end of 2026, with new features planned in response to user feedback.
Reading time can also help someone else. For one month after the launch, each logged 15-minute session counted toward a charity drive. The goal was 7.5 million collective minutes, which could unlock up to S$150,000 for community reading and learning programs.
Singapore is not really paying people enough to read. It is attaching a tiny, visible reward to an activity whose larger benefits arrive slowly. The money may attract attention, but the real prize is a habit that continues after the coins stop coming.