The first day was very lively, with citizens making payments through the "Thai Help Thai Plus" program. There were 13.89 million transactions, with a reminder that stores are not allowed to give cash change; if this rule is violated, they will be suspended from the program.
On 2 June 2026, Mr. Winij Wisetsuwannaphum, Director of the Fiscal Policy Office and spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, stated that following the registration for the Thai Help Thai Plus (60/40) program from 25 to 29 May 2026, a total of 26,040,623 people were granted eligibility.
On the first day of spending, Monday, 1 June 2026, there was strong public interest in using the program. Total spending from 06:00 to 23:00 amounted to over 2,039.74 million baht, divided into 855.64 million baht paid by citizens and 1,184.10 million baht co-paid by the government. More than 8.72 million people used the program, with 13.89 million transactions across 660,000 participating stores. As of 2 June 2026 at 15:00, total program spending reached over 2,870.83 million baht.
Regarding spending under the program, citizens can make purchases at participating stores from 1 June to 30 September 2026, between 06:00 and 23:00, using the G-Wallet (government electronic wallet) within the Paotang application. Users must top up their G-Wallet to cover their share when scanning to pay in conjunction with government contributions.
For each use, stores or public transport providers must enter the actual price of goods or services to generate a QR code for users to scan and pay. The Paotang app displays the amount paid by the user, the government’s co-payment, and the remaining government co-payment entitlement for the day and month.
Citizens are not required to spend the full 200 baht daily government co-payment entitlement each day; they can spend it gradually. However, they should aim to use the full 1,000 baht government co-payment per month from June to September 2026 (four months), as unused entitlement does not roll over to the following month.
Participating stores include not only food, beverage, and general merchandise sellers but also licensed public transport operators such as taxis (metered), legally registered passenger vans, public three-wheeled vehicles, songthaews (shared taxis), public motorcycles, and mass transit operators including urban electric trains, trains, public buses, affiliated bus services, and public ferries.
However, payments through the program must be for actual purchases of goods or services at the scanned amount. Stores are not allowed to give cash change or exchange goods or services for cash under any circumstances, as this violates the program’s purpose. Violators will be suspended from the program, and the government will seek reimbursement of the co-paid amounts. Cooperation is requested to use the program according to its terms to foster a positive atmosphere for reducing living costs, supporting the economy, and overcoming the crisis together.