Govt postpones ‘digital wallet’ policy committee meeting

The reasons for the postponement are not yet known, but are likely due to a number of factors including the need for further consultation with stakeholders such as the Bank of Thailand, the Finance Ministry and private sector businesses, and the need for more time to develop the project, including the technical requirements, the regulatory framework and the marketing plan.

The postponement of the meeting will likely be seen as a disruption to the government's plan to launch the digital wallet scheme in February. However, the government insists it remains committed to the project and is working to ensure that it is launched as soon as possible.

The digital wallet scheme policy committee earlier scheduled a meeting for today, with Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister, serving as chair on behalf of the PM, who is attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024 in Davos, Switzerland this week.

It was thought that the committee would discuss the details of the response to the comments from the Office of the Council of State regarding the government's proposal to issue a 500 billion baht loan bill to fund the digital wallet scheme, as well as legal interpretations of the terms “crisis” and “urgency”. The Finance Ministry, the National Economic and Social Development Council, the Budget Bureau and the Bank of Thailand were also due to explain the current economic situation for the meeting's consideration.