Digital Wallet Scheme Expands to Include Smartphones

[webfact]

 

In a significant shift, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat announced today that beneficiaries of the government's 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme can now use the funds to purchase smartphones. This decision comes amid growing recognition of smartphones as essential tools in daily life.

 

Initially, smartphones were excluded from the list of permissible purchases under the scheme. However, the Digital Wallet Board has revised this stance, considering the ubiquitous role smartphones play in communication, work, and access to information.

 

Julapun further confirmed that the digital wallet project is proceeding on schedule. Barring further changes, both beneficiaries and participating shops can begin the registration process in July. The 10,000-baht payments are expected to be disbursed in the fourth quarter of the year.

 

Eligible recipients include Thai nationals aged 16 and over, with an annual taxable income not exceeding 840,000 baht or combined bank deposits not surpassing 500,000 baht by the end of March 2024. These individuals will receive a one-time benefit of 10,000 baht, aimed at purchasing necessities and services from registered vendors.

 

Items deemed ineligible for purchase with the digital wallet money are government lottery tickets, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, cannabis, Kratom (a narcotic plant), and products related to cannabis and Kratom. Also excluded are gift vouchers, cash vouchers, gold, jewellery, fuel, and natural gas.

 

The digital wallet initiative is expected to have a significant fiscal impact, with an estimated cost of 500 billion baht. Of this, 175 billion baht will be sourced from the 2024 fiscal budget, 152.7 billion baht from the 2025 budget, and an additional 172.3 billion baht borrowed from state-owned banks.

 

This move to include smartphones aligns with the government's broader vision of integrating digital technology into everyday life, highlighting the evolving nature of what constitutes a 'necessity' in modern times.

 

File photo. Courtesy: Wikipedia

 

-- 2024-06-15

 

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[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Julapun further confirmed that the digital wallet project is proceeding on schedule. Barring further changes, both beneficiaries and participating shops can begin the registration process in July. The 10,000-baht payments are expected to be disbursed in the fourth quarter of the year.

Long overdue....

[redwood1]

Use the 10,000 to buy a smartphone so you can have a way to spend your 10,000 in shops....O-wait......Now we need another 10,000  to spend in shops...

[JoePai]

What happens to the people who cannot afford a smart(?) phone - only a dumb phone with an occasional 'pay as you go' SIM - can they still get a digital wallet ?

[Thingamabob]

From the beginning this has been a shabby, shameful vote-buying exercise by the current PM, with no thought being given as to how it would be financed.

[OneMoreFarang]

59 minutes ago, JoePai said:

What happens to the people who cannot afford a smart(?) phone - only a dumb phone with an occasional 'pay as you go' SIM - can they still get a digital wallet ?

There will be some influential person who will help them - maybe sharing 50/50. 

[OneMoreFarang]

How about they cancel that whole thing, buy about 50 million smart phones, and distribute them to the poor.

I guess it should be possible to buy them in bulk for not more than 1000B per phone.

 

Or would this upset all those middlemen who are the real beneficiaries of this scam? 

[brianthainess]

So buy a new Phone, walk next door to another phone shop and sell it for cash, off you go to by your Yabba and Lao Khao. 

 

[Ben Zioner]

Our income tax is going to pay smart phones for no hopers.

 

Sucks.

 

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, JoePai said:

What happens to the people who cannot afford a smart(?) phone - only a dumb phone with an occasional 'pay as you go' SIM - can they still get a digital wallet ?

Probably. In a previous initiative those without a phone, smart or otherwise, got a card to show the vendor.

[sandyf]

26 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

Our income tax is going to pay smart phones for no hopers.

 

Sucks.

 

Surely a bit better than alcohol.

Before you say anything about it being excluded, alcohol was readily available at inflated prices in the previous initiatives so little doubt it will be this time round.

[Ben Zioner]

2 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Surely a bit better than alcohol.

Before you say anything about it being excluded, alcohol was readily available at inflated prices in the previous initiatives so little doubt it will be this time round.

You don't get it. This ridiculous hand out  wouldn't worry me if it was entirely financed though a half point of VAT. Let's say it would be just half idiotic.

[sandyf]

47 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

You don't get it. This ridiculous hand out  wouldn't worry me if it was entirely financed though a half point of VAT. Let's say it would be just half idiotic.

Don't try and change the context, your comment was about including smartphones.

If you have a problem with the policy in general, say so.

[Guderian]

Uncle Xi will be clapping in his palace in Beijing since so many Thais use Chinese phones.

[brianthainess]

52 minutes ago, Guderian said:

Uncle Xi will be clapping in his palace in Beijing since so many Thais use Chinese phones.

  He just heard the news.