If the 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme does not go ahead by next month, it will be put on hold until the next fiscal year that starts on Oct 1, the Budget Bureau said on Tuesday.
Details of the cash handout policy will have to be clarified again once the new cabinet it is formed, said Chalermphol Pensoot, the bureau’s director.
The handout of 10,000 baht to as many as 50 million people is the signature policy of the Pheu Thai Party, but funding it has been an uphill battle. As well, many critics believe the programme won’t deliver the economic lift the party says it will.
Mr Chalermphol said people who are genuinely needy would likely be the first to become eligible for the funds.
That would mean around 15 million people — roughly 14 million of them state welfare cardholders and the rest people with disabilities.
He said the cost would be covered by 122 billion baht approved from the 2024 fiscal budget and 20 billion baht from the central budget.
The money was scheduled to be handed out in September but the final figure has yet to be approved by the Ministry of Finance.
Mr Chalermphol said the government is on track to begin the scheme by next month as the registration process has already been completed.
“However, if the handout cannot be implemented on time, the project will be put on hold and a new budget allocation must be re-drafted if the project is to resume,” he said.
When the 2025 fiscal budget takes effect in October, another 30 million registered individuals would be eligible to receive the money.
But these people will still have to be checked first to avoid any inadvertent duplication of payments. When the system is ready, the money will be distributed in digital wallets, said Mr Chalermphol.