Cash transfers reach 14m Thais

The Finance Ministry has deemed the first round of the cash handout scheme as successful at stimulating the economy, as more than 14 million people received transfers.
Only 2% of the transfers were unsuccessful, said Pornchai Thiraveja, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO).
The transfers went to state welfare cardholders and people with disabilities in the first phase from Sept 25-30, said Mr Pornchai.
On the final day for transfers, Sept 30, which went to state welfare cardholders with ID numbers ending in 8 or 9, tallying 2.25 million people, 61,469 transfers failed, according to the FPO.
Total successful transfers amounted to 14.05 million, while 381,287 transfers were unsuccessful.
He said the main reasons for failed transfers across different groups include closed bank accounts or incorrect bank account numbers for people with disabilities.
In addition, some state welfare cardholders have yet to link their bank accounts to their national ID through the PromptPay system, while others have inactive accounts, closed accounts, or incorrect account numbers.
“Eligible recipients are urged to link their PromptPay accounts to their national ID, or contact their banks to resolve the issues to receive their payments during the next retry period,” said Mr Pornchai.
“For people with disabilities whose disability ID cards expired, or those receiving disability allowances without a disability card, or those with incomplete disability card information who did not receive a transfer on Sept 25, it is recommended they renew their disability cards or apply for new ones, updating their information at disability service centres nationwide.
“The next payment retry rounds are on Oct 22 and Nov 22, with the final retry on Dec 22. Eligible recipients must correct their documents before the final retry round.”
After the third retry deadline, payments will be discontinued for those still ineligible, and it will be assumed that they no longer wish to receive payments under the programme, he said.
Individuals who are bankrupt or under a court receivership order can open a bank account to receive payments under the programme, withdrawing the money after filing a petition with the receivership officer to request permission to open or use an account for the stimulus scheme, said Mr Pornchai.
The bank account must be linked to the national ID via PromptPay before the retry deadline.
He said the programme injected 141 billion baht into the economy and urged recipients to plan their spending wisely to maximise the benefits for themselves and their families.