Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai gave an assurance today that the Pheu Thai party will proceed with the “digital wallet” scheme as promised, but may adjust it by distributing cash, instead of ‘digital money’ through the “Thang Rath” platform.
He also said that the party will not downsize the scheme further, after having reduced its funding from 500 to 450 billion baht, and the objective will remain unchanged, which is to stimulate the sluggish economy.
He said that a clearer picture of the controversial scheme will emerge once the new cabinet is in place and the scheme will have to be discussed among coalition parties and incorporated in the government’s policies.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said today that the timeline for the scheme remains unchanged, with the distribution of the 10,000 baht benefit to begin in the final quarter of this year.
People’s party MP Sirikanya Tansakul said that that she is not surprised that the 10,000 baht might be in cash, because the caretaker government is required to spend the 122 billion baht budget plus a supplementary budget from the Central Fund by September 30th, which is the end of the 2024 fiscal year.
She said that, if the amount of the funding for the scheme is small, it will have less effect in stimulating the economy adding, however, that she agrees that the economy needs to be stimulated and cannot wait until the first quarter of next near.
Regarding the “Thang Rath” app, which was already been developed and may not be used with the digital wallet scheme, Sirikanya said that the platform can still be used with other transactions and it will not be a waste of investment.
