The Finance Ministry has allocated 19-20 billion baht to fund the 1,000-baht cash giveaway and 15% rebate for travel in destinations outside home provinces. (Photo by Aswin Pakhawan)

The Comptroller-General's Department plans to streamline the registration process to attract merchants to participate in the 1,000-baht cash giveaway as well as the 15% rebate for travel to destinations outside home provinces as the participation level is below 50%.

Interested merchants will be allowed to use the application issued by the department and signed by state agencies, instead of a confirmation letter to verify their identity, a move to facilitate shops intending to participate in the scheme, said Suttirat Rattanachot, director-general of the department.

Between Aug 28 and Sept 2, around 500-600 shops on average per day signed up to participate in the 1,000-baht cash handout, below the target of 1,000 a day. There were 2,800 shops registered to receive payments from the scheme's recipients as of Monday, compared with the target of 10,000-20,000.

The registration will close on Sept 20.

However, 30,000 Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops equipped with electronic data capture and another 50,000 shops that use the Tung Ngen app can express their intention to participate in the scheme, she said.

The cash giveaway and the rebate is part of the 316-billion-baht stimulus package, aimed at boosting the country's economic growth by 0.5 percentage points this year.

The Finance Ministry has prepared a budget of 19-20 billion baht to fund the 1,000-baht giveaway for travel to tourist destinations outside of home provinces, and a 15% cash rebate of up to 30,000 baht on tourism-related spending.

To be eligible for the cash handout and rebate, Thais aged 18 and up are required to sign up for the Pao Tang mobile app from Krungthai Bank (KTB) from Sept 23 to Nov 22 to receive 1,000 baht. The rebate will be paid by the government.

Registrants will receive an SMS to confirm their privileges within three business days.

If registrants fail to use the 1,000-baht cash giveaway in the province they identify within two weeks of receiving the SMS, they cannot spend the money in the app.

Ms Suttirat said KTB also set up mobile units to facilitate merchant registrants.

Those who sign up must download the bank's Tung Ngen app to receive payments.

She said the 15% rebate can be spent in any province.