Phichit Buzzing as Residents Line Up to Verify Identity for Thai Helps Thai Plus Scheme
Phichit residents lined up from early morning at Krung Thai Bank to register for the Thai Helps Thai Plus subsidy program, with technical barriers including app compatibility issues and facial recognition problems creating anxiety among par
Phichit Buzzing as Residents Line Up to Verify Identity for Thai Helps Thai Plus Scheme, Long queues extend outside bank. Residents began queuing from 6 AM. On May 25, 2025, reports indicate the Krung Thai Bank Phichit branch has been bustling since 6 AM, with large crowds arriving to queue for identity verification to receive the Thai Helps Thai Plus (60/40) subsidy. Residents with the Pao Tang mobile application brought their phones to verify registration for the program, which is accepting registrations between May 25-29 with 30 million benefit allocations available.
Bank staff arranged for people to queue outside the building to reduce overcrowding and provided clarifications to waiting residents, establishing separate queues for benefit verification and routine banking transactions. One resident reported arriving at 7 AM to use the Pao Tang app for facial recognition verification with bank staff, but worried about the extended queue and feared missing out on the benefits.
The bank established additional service points with intern trainees and staff to provide guidance to the public. The main registration problem identified involves equipment and technical system limitations, particularly for elderly residents using older smartphones where the Android operating system must be version 10 or higher to support the application.
This has created anxiety among residents with questions such as "Do I need to buy a new phone to exchange for these benefits?" which adds financial burden in the current economic situation. Other technical issues causing confusion include failed identity verification, particularly facial scanning problems, with SIM card data and registered SIM holder names needing to match the national ID number.
Staff have been promoting instructions on how to verify through ID numbers, phone calls, and internet signals. Some residents have experienced slow internet signals that disrupted their registration process, but system uncertainty and complex conditions continue to leave many residents stressed and worried about missing this opportunity for assistance.
Ms. Sut Jai Bunwat, a resident of Muang Kao subdistrict, revealed she had her grandchild enter the system to verify benefits because she feared mistakes would prevent proper verification for the Thai Helps Thai Plus scheme.
