The House Economic Affairs Committee heard testimony from a Bank of Thailand representative today (Thursday) that the digital wallet program is not particularly necessary because private sector consumption has been increasing and the labor market has been gradually improving.
As a result, according to the bank, the program’s full potential, which was anticipated by the government to support the program’s expense, may not be realized.
The point of view put forward by Daranee Saeju, assistant governor of the Bank of Thailand’s payment systems policy and financial consumer protection group, during her testimony to the committee today was summed up by Sitthiphol Vibulthanakul, chair of the House Economics Affairs Committee and a member of the Move Forward party list.
Today’s testimony was also open to representatives from the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Finance Ministry.
In addition to verifying that the 560 billion baht needed to support the digital wallet system will not come from the national budget, Sitthiphol claimed the Finance Ministry official was unable to give the committee a clear response.
The Move Forward MP stated that the House committee must be fair to the government and is awaiting their comprehensive explanation, regardless of whether the plan will be beneficial to the country’s economy.
No matter their financial situation, all Thais 16 and older would be eligible for the program’s one-time benefit of 10,000 baht in digital money, which would be wired into their digital wallet and would need to be used within six months to purchase goods or services from Blue Flag stores or shops within a 4-kilometer radius of their registered residence.
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