Registration for Thailand’s digital wallet launches

Thailand’s new digital wallet scheme could attract over 1.6 million shops as Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai announces eligibility for around 910,000 businesses under the Business Development Department, 146,000 blue-flag grocery stores and 5,000 blue-flag food shops, according to reports from the Nation Thailand.

Citizen registration has already begun, while merchants will be eligible to register from October 1, Thaiger notes. This initiative, championed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, will distribute 10,000 baht in digital currency to 50 million Thai citizens aged 16 and older.

Registration can be done within an app called Tang Rat, using a national ID card and facial recognition for identity verification. Alternatively, users have the option to verify their identity through several other methods, including service counters at 7-Eleven stores, Thai Post counters, Boonterm kiosks, multi-purpose government service kiosks, as well as the ThaID app.

New users of the app will first need to verify their identity by entering personal information, undergoing e-KYC verification, and creating a user account with a password.

Originally, the State Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives was set to finance the project, however, the government decided to fund the initiative through the 2024 and 2025 fiscal budgets, Malaysia Sun reports.

In May, the Thai Prime Minister’s cabinet approved an increase of 122 billion baht ( around $3.3 billion) to the 3.48 trillion baht (roughly $96.8 million) fiscal budget. This additional funding, primarily sourced from loans, was to support the financing of the digital wallet initiative, Nikkei Asia reports.

The funds are expected to be available for use in the last quarter. The government has established measures to prevent misuse of the funds, including restrictions on purchasing certain goods, such as fuel, lottery tickets, tobacco and mobile phones.

The government anticipates that this digital wallet scheme will stimulate economic growth by 1.2 percent to 1.6 percent, due to “positive spillover effects extending into the following year”, according to a keynote address by PM Thavisin at the UBS Asian Investment conference in May this year.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  digital wallets  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  ThaID  |  Thailand