BANGKOK (NNT) – Krungthai Bank (KTB) and the Government Savings Bank (GSB) have confirmed that citizens will not need to open a new bank account to register for the 5,000-baht assistance payment, being provided by the government to aid workers affected by the COVID-19 situation.
The KTB President, Payong Srivanich, explained that laborers, temporary employees and freelance workers, who are not in the social security system and have been affected by the COVID-19 situation, can register at www.เราไม่ทิ้งกัน.com on March 28 from 6 p.m., with no restriction on the number of applicants. Registration will be open for 24 hours, with results to be announced either by a short message service (SMS) or mail.
Funds can be received either via Prompt Pay into the account tied to the recipient’s national identification number or any existing bank account under the individual’s own name. Mr. Payong assured that opening a new bank account is not a requirement of the assistance, but added that opening a Prompt Pay account using any automatic teller machine (ATM) or mobile banking application could speed up pay out, which is likely to be at least seven days after registration.
The KTB President noted that, while his bank is exercising stringent precautions, the misunderstanding that a bank account must be opened has resulted in long lines at branches, placing people in danger of spreading COVID-19. KTB has decided to close branches on March 28 and 29 to resolve the problem and will reopen on March 30.
