B10,000 handouts fail to reach 44,000 recipients

The government was unable to transfer 10,000-baht cash handouts to nearly 44,000 people as they have yet to register a PromptPay application or failed to provide a valid link to their account, according to Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat.
Transactions were scheduled on Thursday for 59,568 state welfare cardholders and 14,399 individuals with disabilities, he said on Friday in an update on the second attempt to deliver the first batch of payments.
Only 30,268 transactions were successful, while 43,699 others failed, he said.
The main reason was that the ID card numbers of 40,157 recipients were not linked to their PromptPay accounts, he said.
The others failed because of invalid accounts, such as closed accounts, incorrect account numbers or accounts with conditions preventing transactions.
Mr Julapun said eligible recipients must activate their PromptPay accounts by linking the account to their ID card number by Dec 16.
People whose disability cards have expired or been lost must update or renew them by Dec 3, to qualify for the third attempt on Dec 19.
If not, the Comptroller General’s Department will cease all transactions.
More than 14 million welfare cardholders and people with disabilities were targeted under the first phase of the handout programme. The second phase will target about 4 million elderly people early next year, and the third phase in April will be for 14 million others who have already registered.