Concerns raised over legality of govt’s digital wallet borrowing plan

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives’ (BAAC) labour union raised concerns about the government’s plans to borrow 172.3 billion baht (US$4.7 billion) from the bank to fund a digital wallet handout scheme. The union is questioning the legality of this plan and has sought guidance from the State Enterprise Policy Office, the Bank of Thailand, and the Council of State.

The union has called on the BAAC to communicate with the public and within the organisation to assure them that no action has been taken regarding the digital wallet scheme while they await feedback from the aforementioned agencies. They emphasised that the bank’s involvement in the scheme must comply with the law and align with the interests of its customers and the institution.

This is not the first time the union has voiced its concerns. They previously opposed…