The government's 500 billion baht (US$13.75 billion) digital wallet handout scheme will be rolled out in the fourth quarter of this year, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Wednesday.
The signature policy of the ruling Pheu Thai Party is aimed at stimulating the economy and entails transferring 10,000 baht ($275) to 50 million Thais to spend in their localities within six months.
Mr Srettha, also the finance minister, told a briefing the policy would boost gross domestic product growth by 1.2 to 1.6 percentage points. He has said repeatedly that the economy needs big stimulus measures, saying growth might have been less than 1% in the first quarter of 2024, following the annual 1.7% expansion in the previous quarter.
Thais aged 16 and older who earn less than 70,000 baht a month and have less than 500,000 baht in their bank accounts stand to receive a 10,000-baht handout under the scheme.
Based on these criteria, an estimated 50 million people will be eligible for the handout -- down from 56 million originally.
The government has been scrambling to find ways to finance the scheme without overly burdening public debt and has faced criticism from some economists and former central bank governors, who have called the scheme fiscally irresponsible.
Last week, the cabinet approved a plan to expand its budget deficit next year by 152.7 billion baht, saying it would be used to stimulate the economy.
Economists have voiced concern over the government's planned 10,000-baht digital handout policy, predicting it could affect the value of the baht and deteriorate monetary and fiscal discipline, with the Bank of Thailand (BoT) urging caution with the project.
BoT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput has argued that the post-pandemic recovery is gaining momentum, and the economy is not in a crisis that warrants a large fiscal stimulus.
