WEB PBS MAR 18

BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT
STATE AGENCIES GOING
CASHLESS
In a move to streamline and improve
overall services, all government
agencies will be moving into
what will be a cashless system,
meaning all payments received
and all payments sent out will be
done electronically. The change
comes into effect from 27 March
this year, although the rollout will
take up to six months to complete,
according to the Ministry of
Finance.
The entire rollout is part of the
government’s long-term plan to
turn Thailand into a less cash-reliant
economy. Creating a more
digital payment and receipt economy
is something Singapore leads
the way currently in Southeast
Asia, and Thailand clearly recognises
the need to keep up with
its forward-planning neighbours if
it is to keep moving forward economically.
This new system is also aimed at
encouraging people to be confident
of buying online and generally
engaging in the e-commerce
sector. As well, such e-commerce
transactions are perfect for tracking
when payments and receipts
are made. In theory it should lead
to greater transparency involving
financial transactions and allow
for disputes to be quickly resolved.
The committee involved in the
move agreed to the development
of a payment app for smartphones
so that people holding welfare
smart cards in isolated areas
where there are no electronic data
capture (EDC) terminals could still
purchase goods at Thong Fah
Pracha Rat outlets.
So far, almost 500,000 EDC terminals
have been installed under
the national e-payment scheme,
of which just 20,000 are in Thong
Fah Pracha Rat shops. The Finance
Ministry announced a plan
to install a further 20,000 at these
shops, at a cost of 200 million
baht.
The first phase of the government’s
welfare and subsidy
scheme involves the transfer of
between 200 and 300 baht per
month to holders of welfare smart
cards. People earning less than
30,000 baht a year receive a
monthly allowance of 300 baht,
while those with annual earnings
of between 30,001 to 100,000
baht receive 200 baht to purchase
discounted goods at Thong Fah
Pracha Rat shops.
The second phase of the government’s
scheme will involve additional
payments of between 100
and 200 baht per month for those
people who sign on for the government’s
skill training program,
which begins in March.
This added monetary bonus is,
quite obviously, aimed at getting
low income earners to learn a new
trade or gain added educational
skills which, in the long run, will
enable them to get better-paying
employment and move out from
the cycle of poverty.
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