PM gives E-wallet start date

Beginning August 1 is the membership deadline.

PM gives E-wallet start date
Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister, gives more details about the flyer distribution plan at Government House in November of last year. ( Photo: Chanat Katanyu )

According to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, the 10-millibaht electric pocket handbook will begin on August 1.

The Digital Wallet Policy Committee met on Monday to discuss preparation for registering qualified consumers and suppliers for the program, and the prime minister made the announcement on the day on X.

He claimed that the anxious organizations were also instructed to create measures to tackle irregularities and carefully assess enrollment if the scheme’s requirements were violated.

According to Mr. Srettha, the government must examine all legal and professional issues to make sure everything is in order. The flyer is meant to stimulate the economy.

The prime minister wrote,” The people will not be stood away, but the implementation of the program may take some time.”

The main committee approved the idea to not borrow money from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives ( BAAC ), according to deputy finance minister Julapun Amornvivat, who chairs a subcommittee that studies the details of the handout.

He added that the council also endorsed the idea of lowering the program’s budget from 500 billion to 450 billion, adding that despite the change, it would have a beneficial effect on the market.

Mr Julapun said that funding for the project would come from two sources– the 2024 fiscal budget ( 165 billion baht ) and the 2025 fiscal budget ( 258 billion baht ).

One of the three major sources of funding for the electric pocket program was the government’s recently announced plans to distribute 172 billion ringgit of funds from the BAAC for the system.

Nonetheless, there would be constitutional repercussions if the BAAC approved a loan to finance the project. According to the law of the BAAC, the banks may only lend to farmers and cannot use its loans as monetary stimulus.

Mr Julapun noted that the program still covers 50 million people, but the volume is set at 450 billion ringgit, following testimonials of previous federal projects, which showed that nearly 90 % of qualified people registered.

We complied with the recommendations of organizations concerned about budgetary concerns and agreed to lower the project’s value. Nevertheless, if the number of registered persons exceeds 90 %, we have administrative procedures to deal with it”, he said.

He added that the commission also took into account many suggestions, including whether suppliers who were found to have violated the terms of prior state projects should not be permitted to participate.

Mr. Julapun claimed that the main committee also endorsed the so-called” Adverse List” and that the Commerce Ministry should take into account whether or not firearms products should be included.

Electrical appliances, electronic gadgets, or communication devices are the current items that are not included in the Bad List.

He resisted the shift in the financing options and that the funds would still be distributed by the end of the year. On July 24, the prime minister will release the information of the program, he added.

However, the general government whip, Wisut Chainaroon, said on Monday that a bill to let the spending of 122 billion baht from the 2024 governmental budget to fund the digital wallets had become tabled for a House debate tomorrow.

He stated that the House is anticipated to spend about five time examining the costs in its first reading and that the government’s representatives will make every effort to expedite the review process and get the draft legislation passed as soon as possible.

Mr. Wisut shrugged off the criticism town’s plan to ask for the Administrative Court’s assistance if the bill was passed.

Because the persons need the cash, we’ll move the exam. I believe the program you promote the grass economy”, he said.

The Tang Rat app’s registration system for modern cards, according to the Digital Government Agency, is fully operational.