The government cannot hand out 10,000 baht in digital money to people on Feb 1 as planned because it will take longer to develop a secure system, according to Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat.
“It needs maximum security but I can confirm that we will finish it for the handout to start within the first quarter of next year,” he said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had earlier set Feb 1 as the start date for the programme, the centrepiece of the Pheu Thai Party’s plan to revive the economy.
The Srettha government plans to hand out 10,000 baht in digital money to every Thai aged 16 years and over, at an estimated cost of 548 billion baht. Distribution could be done through a new “super app”, the government has said.
Mr Srettha has said that the multiplier effect of increased consumption spending could help the economy grow by up to 5% next year. Increased tax revenue from economic activity would help to partly pay for the scheme, he said.
But a growing number of economists, including two former Bank of Thailand governors, have said the policy presents too big a risk to the economy.
Many critics have said that the money should be given only to those who really need it, and the government has acknowledged that the scheme might be revised to exclude the rich.
In a related development, former senator Rosana Rositrakul on Thursday filed a petition against the scheme.
“The 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme can be compared to the rice-pledging scheme of the Yingluck Shinawatra government which resulted in several cabinet ministers being jailed,” said Ms Rosana.
“But that was useless because we lost our money. I, as a taxpayer, am doing the duty of a citizen in calling for concerned organisations to look into this matter.”
