An additional 20,000 electronic data capture (EDC) devices are set to be installed at Thong Fah Pracha Rat and Pracha Rat shops across the country to facilitate state welfare smart card holders' spending, says a senior official at the Finance Ministry.
The Comptroller-General's Department and the Commerce Ministry will soon jointly hold a conference to announce the guidelines for installing the 20,000 new EDC terminals at Thong Fah Pracha Rat and Village Fund Pracha Rat stores in order to hasten the installations and better serve demand in each area, said Suttirat Rattanachot, director-general of the department.
The new welfare card reader installations will be distributed evenly between Thong Fah Pracha Rat and Pracha Rat shops, she said, without providing a specific time frame.
Some 18,799 card-swiping terminals have been installed at Thong Fah Pracha Rat and Pracha Rat shops nationwide.
The new EDC device installation will be focused on districts where Thong Fah Pracha Rat and Pracha Rat shops that do not have EDCs are located and areas with density of welfare smart cardholders, she said.
The joint meeting is aimed at making understanding with owners of Thong Fah Pracha Rat and Pracha Rat shops and allowing them to test out the system before the installation, said Ms Suttirat.
The government has restricted 11.4 million welfare smart cardholders to spending their allowance at Thong Fah Pracha Rat and Pracha Rat shops alone. Apart from living allowances, welfare smart cardholders receive subsidies to travel on public buses and trains.
Under the aid package, the government transfers 200-300 baht a month to each welfare smart card. Recipients earning less than 30,000 baht a year get a monthly allowance of 300 baht, while those with annual earnings of 30,000-100,000 baht receive 200 baht to buy discounted goods at Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops and other designated stores.
Some 5.3 million out of the 11.4 million recipients of the government's welfare and subsidy scheme are living below the national poverty line, earning less than 30,000 baht a year.
Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong recently said that from October 2017 to March 27 more than 69 million consumer goods items were sold through Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops, generating sales of over 19 billion baht.