The controversial plan began as a campaign promise and will help lower-income Thais buy more.
Thailand’s Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira has confirmed that a plan to pay a social benefit in digital money is going ahead. Up to 45 million Thais will be eligible to receive 10,000 baht (about $280) in digital money on Aug. 1. That sum is about two-thirds of the average monthly income in the country.
The Digital Wallet plan was a campaign promise by the Pheu Thai party, which won in last year’s general election. The plan will cost $13.8 billion and will distribute the cash in digital form to Thais age 16 or older with incomes under $23,000 and savings under $13,700, according to the AP.
The money for the plan will come from the national budget, after the parliament approved supplemental funds for the purpose earlier in July. Backers of the plan promise that it will stimulate the domestic economy, which has been growing at less than 2% annually for the last decade.
