Beneficiaries of the 10,000-baht payment, under the government’s “digital wallet” scheme, will be able to use the money to buy smart phones, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said today.
Smart phones, which were on the list of items and services which could not be bought using the money, are now regarded as a necessity and the Digital Wallet Board has decided to allow their purchase, said the deputy minister.
He confirmed that the project is now proceeding according to the time line and, if there are no further changes, the people, and shops which agreed to participate in the scheme, will be able to apply for registration in July and the 10,000-baht payments will be disbursed in the fourth quarter of the year.
Thai nationals who are 16 and over, who have taxable annual incomes not exceeding 840,000 baht or combined bank deposits not exceeding 500,000 baht at end of March 2024, will be eligible to receive the one-time 10,000 benefit. It will be wired into their accounts for the purchase necessities and services from registered vendors.
Items which cannot be bought with the benefit money include government lottery tickets, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, cannabis, Kratom (a narcotic plant), products of cannabis and Kratom, gift vouchers, cash vouchers, gold, jewellery, fuel and natural gas.
The digital wallet scheme will cost the taxpayer about 500 billion baht, of which 175 billion and 152.7 billion baht will come from the fiscal budgets of 2024 and 2025 respectively, and 172.3 billion baht in borrowing from state owned banks.
