Last Chance For 5,000 Baht Handout

Despite being fraught with alleged mistakes in its automatic registering system, the Finance Ministry plans to close applications for the monthly 5,000-baht cash handout this week.

The 5,000-baht cash handout scheme is part of relief measures directed at those affected by the coronavirus pandemic and containment measures.

The allowance is given for three months, from April to June, to temporary workers, contract employees and self-employed workers who are not included in the Social Security Fund’s Section 33.

As of May 12, 14.2 million applicants have already been approved to receive the aid, while 98-99% of the appeals are expected to be completely reviewed by Sunday, said Lavaron Sangsnit, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office.

Out of 24 million applicants, 1.7 million were rejected because they failed to complete registration. Incomplete registration could include misspelt names or providing erroneous citizen ID numbers, he noted.

Of the 22.3 million applicants who passed the ID authentication process, 16 million were either approved to receive the subsidy or are in the final screening process, and the remaining 6.3 million were rejected.

Mr Lavaron has repeatedly said the Finance Ministry will not leave behind the 1.7 million applicants denied because of an incomplete registration process and it is seeking appropriate ways to help them.

The main issue for those who passed the screening process but have yet to receive the money is accounts provided by them have co-signers, belong to cousins or are frozen due to inactivity of more than a year, said Mr Lavaron.

The best way to ensure an applicant will receive the cash is to provide a bank account linked to PromptPay with an ID number, he said.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post