Macroeconomics/Digital wallet

Chatrudee Theparat

Three options of the government to fund the digital wallet scheme

The government is pushing ahead its digital wallet scheme with three options of funding source, including drafting a borrowing bill, the 2025 fiscal budget, or both borrowings and the fiscal budget.

Lavaron Sangsnit, permanent secretary to Ministry of Finance, said the Digital Wallet Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin assigned the Finance Ministry and the Budget Bureau to consider possible funding sources for the scheme, including a borrowing bill, the 2024 fiscal budget or both funding source from borrowings and the fiscal budget.

He said the 500 billion baht borrowing bill is the first option the government would choose. However, the government is considering to use the second option with the source from the 2025 fiscal budget because the government is in the process to consider it. The third is to use both borrowings and the fiscal budget.

“If the government aims to boost the Thai economy, the government may need to improve a framework of the 2025 fiscal budget.”

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin

The 500-billion-baht scheme is tentatively scheduled to launch in May, but its delay is widely anticipated as the legality of the scheme.

He said the meeting of the Digital Wallet Policy Committee on April 10 will make a decision on which one will be the right source of funding for the scheme.

The Commerce Ministry will also define its criteria for goods and shops, which want to participate in the scheme.