Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand's Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul confirmed on September 30 that the Government has secured funding for the second phase of the “Digital Wallet” programme, with a budget of 180 billion THB (5.4 billion USD).
The first phase of the cash handout, which provided 10,000 THB per person to 14.5 million people, including welfare cardholders and people with disabilities, has gone smoothly so far.
Around 200,000 people have experienced unsuccessful transfers, which is not considered to be a large number, as they had not yet linked their accounts to PromptPay.
Therefore, he urged those affected to quickly link their accounts, either by visiting their bank or using an ATM. The Government will attempt the transfers again on October 22, November 22, and December 22.
The second phase will proceed, but the method and timeline will be decided later by the Economic Stimulus Committee chaired by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Since the first phase, ATM withdrawals have surged, particularly at branches of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, where transactions spiked 18 times, as vulnerable groups tend to withdraw the full amount as soon as it was transferred, mainly to spend within their local communities.
For people with disabilities who missed out, the Finance Ministry has coordinated with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to verify their details and instruct them to link their accounts to PromptPay before the next transfer dates./.
