Smartphones, appliances should not be bought with digital wallet
PM considers nixing the use of digital wallet for purchases of smartphones and electrical appliances out of concerns that the funds would go to overseas manufacturers
The government may backtrack on its earlier promise that the 10,000-baht handout can be used to buy smartphones, after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin commented that the move could lead to an outflow of funds abroad.
Last Friday, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat told reporters that smartphones should be included among eligible products under the handout scheme, noting that nowadays they are a necessity for earning a living.
However, after a meeting with the digital wallet subcommittee on Monday, Julapun said PM Srettha was concerned at some of the criteria for spending the digital wallet, which aims to stimulate domestic purchasing and help Thai businesses.
“The Prime Minister is concerned that allowing the use of the digital wallet to buy imported products, such as smartphones and electrical appliances, could lead to the outflow of funds to overseas manufacturers. He has asked the Commerce Ministry to reconsider the spending criteria,” said Julapun.
He added that the meeting tasked the ministry to submit the revised criteria to the meeting next week.
So far, the list of things that cannot be bought with the digital handout includes fuel, services, online products and “sin” products like tobacco and booze.
The handout will be given to registered Thai citizens aged 16 and above who earn no more than 840,000 baht per year and have no more than 500,000 baht in their bank accounts.
The recipients can use this digital money at specific stores within their home districts, while these stores can use the money earned to buy goods from other stores in any location.
The deputy finance minister said that the meeting on Monday also discussed the progress of establishing a registration system for the “super app”, which will be used to distribute the money.
The meeting acknowledged that the app will use an open-loop model to link with commercial banks, government’s financial institutes, and e-payment service providers.
“The registration is designed to be simple. Those who have verified their ID via the existing banking system will not need to verify again,” said Julapun.
“In the next 2-3 weeks, we expect to launch a campaign to educate the public and businesses about how to join the scheme and spend the money,” he added.
The Finance Ministry earlier announced that recipients and stores can start registering for the scheme by the third quarter and the one-time handout will kick off in the fourth quarter as scheduled.
