Thailand’s government recently said it has scuttled plans to issue credit cards to farmers, which was part of an electoral promise its ruling party made earlier this year.
Officials abandoned the plan because the proposed chip-based cards, designed to store certain data pertaining to each farmer, and the associated debt-repayment program, were deemed too complicated a tool for farmers, local media reports indicated.
Thailand’s Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives was tapped to act as the card’s sole issuer, and plans were afoot to hire a service provider to handle card issuance and account management, according to reports.
The credit cards, intended to provide funds for farmers to purchase supplies, were to be issued to participants beginning Nov. 1, a Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives spokesperson tells PaymentsSource.
Thai farmers would have been able to use the credit cards for agricultural-related purchases from cooperatives and more than 3,000 merchants that were working with the bank.
Farmers expected to receive 70% of their credit limit in the form of a cash advance, according to the spokesperson, who says the card would have carried a 7% interest rate for purchases except those with a government subsidy.
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