BANGKOK – As part of the government’s program to combat informal debt, which has been declared a national agenda, citizens who have problems can now register. Registration began on December 1 at provincial justice centers and district offices across the country.
On the first day, a total of 22,090 people across the country in all 77 provinces were registered, with the majority registering via the online system: 21,001, walk-ins 1,089, the number of creditors 11,539, and total debt 935.31 million baht. The province with the highest number of registrants is Bangkok, with 1,529 cases.
In some provinces, citizens began registering early in the morning, for example in Loei province in the northeast, Songkhla province in the south and Nakhon Sawan province in the central region.
Many people explained how their overwhelming debts came about. They attributed it to the exorbitantly high interest rates, which made it impossible to repay the capital.
A 50-year-old woman from Chaiyaphum province said that she had opened a small store in Na Fai sub-district. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, her business suffered losses, so she had no money for the household, could not send her children to school and had no access to loans from financial institutions.
Therefore, she decided to borrow money informally, totaling 130,000 baht with an interest rate of 5 percent per month, equivalent to 7,000 baht in interest per month. She had been paying interest for over a year, but the principal amount of 130,000 baht remained untouched.
If she missed a monthly interest payment, she would have had to pay additional penalties and higher interest. She therefore decided to register to pay off her informal debt.
A man in Songkhla province said he borrowed money from acquaintances for his child’s education because he could not get a student loan at the time. He borrowed 100,000 baht and paid interest of 6,500 baht per month for 3 years. Now the creditor wants the loan amount back, but he doesn’t have the means to repay it, so he has sought help.
Anutin Charnvirakul, the deputy prime minister and interior minister in charge of the debt project, said the government has opened three registration channels: at justice centers, online and by sending officials to inspect communities and areas to minimize errors. This includes opening registrations on the first day.
The work of government officials is about reviewing contracts. If there are provisions in the contracts that are contrary to the law, such as the creditor receiving excessive interest that the debtor cannot repay, the government must protect fairness and ensure a win-win situation where the creditor receives the principal and reasonable interest and the debtor is not unfairly pressured.
When asked by journalists about the confusion over the registration of debt relief and the partial settlement of debts by the government, Mr. Anutin stated, “Absolutely not, but we will help bring down the unjust interest rates. Let the media contribute to clarification. Otherwise there could be misunderstandings.”
In summary, this project is about reorganization. It is not intended to initiate legal action or investigations. Other matters are the responsibility of other authorities; we don’t have time to expand our coverage.”
On 8 December, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin will give the political go-ahead on the project. Operational levels include district officials and police chiefs across the country.
Registration will run from 1 December 2023 to 29 February 2024. State officials will collect information on debtors of various kinds from 15 December 2023 to March 2024 to help registered debtors.
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