Northeast vendors prefer cash handout

Residents in Khon Kaen show their state welfare cards. (Photo: Chakkrapan Natanri)
Khon Kaen people present their state security cards. ( Photo: Chakkrapan Natanri )

Some northeastern merchants are asking the government to carry on its 10-millibaht wallet scheme, saying it will help the local market even if the cash is n’t online.

The state, under new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, may modify its lineup 10, 000-baht digital budget policy to a 10, 000-baht money handout plan instead.

At Metropolitan Fresh Market 1 in Khon Kaen, Tukta Sriaphai, a 57-year-old fish contractor, told the Bangkok Post that she would benefit from the money flyer, adding she would use the money to pay for water and electricity costs or her children’s schooling.

She claimed that using electric money might be challenging for her, but using cash would be more convenient. She said that the money may help stimulate the economy more effectively because it would be immediately distributed to suppliers to pay for things like fuel.

Yet, she is cautious about whether or not the government’s plan would truly materialise.

Phetrat Kongphon, a 58-year-old pork contractor, also backed the money handout plan as she believed it would help with household expenses, especially for the elderly.

Tiwarat Soysuwan, a 42-year-old fruit merchant, claimed she did not sign up for the modern pocket program because she was concerned that it would be hard for her to use the funds. She claimed to reside in the Muang city, but that her home was actually registered in another.

Nevertheless, if the money was given in income, she said she would file for the plan. Money may give individuals more freedom to spend, benefiting both consumers and manufacturers, she said.

She even hoped the government would give the cash in phases, as opposed to the total amount at once, for financial control.

However, in Nakhon Ratchasima, some low-income folks also weighed in on the president’s handout plan, with some saying it may occur under the present state.

Nattapol Tinthapthai, a 50-year-old corn bread merchant, expressed concern over the current economic situation, saying his revenue has considerably decreased in the past decades.

He claimed he was a participant in the digital wallet program, but that the Prayut Chan-o-cha government would prefer cash donations in the same way that the Covid-19 relief funds did.

Ua Tankratok, a 49-year-old street vendor, expressed her doubts about the government’s handout scheme.

She registered for the digital wallet, but she does n’t think the policy will continue because the current administration seems “unstable.”