Thailand is set to Roll out its Digital Wallet Scheme in August

The Digital Wallet program, a key stimulus project for the Srettha administration to stimulate the Thai economy, is now ready for official rollout. Eligible businesses and individuals can register for digital cash handouts from August 1 to September 15, 2024. Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai expects this Digital Wallet program to launch in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 1.6 million shops eligible to join.

Despite the campaign controversy among financial and economic experts, the Thai government has high hopes that this scheme will boost the lagging economy by 1.2 to 1.6 percentage points in GDP growth and help money circulation within the system. The program will give 10,000 baht (~ $275) to 50 million citizens in digital money to spend at local businesses, and the project’s funding is out of the pocket of the 2024 and 2025 fiscal budgets. The government’s Thang Raj app has seen a 10-fold increase in daily registrations after details about the Digital Wallet were announced on July 24, 2024, giving some confidence to the Srettha administration that their flagship project can reach their expectations.

Now officially underway, the scheme is expected to trigger economic “whirlwinds” by spurring spending, creating a short-term increase in the purchasing power of the local population, reviving the manufacturing sector, and hopefully restoring confidence in the Thai economy. In January, Srettha said that the Thai economy is in crisis, which has grown at a sluggish pace compared to its regional peers in Southeast Asia. The success of the Digital Wallet project has a chance to fire up the economy, but it also has a determining role in the Pheu Thai party’s future trajectories.