More than 26 million people and over one million businesses had registered for Thailand's "Thais Help Thais Plus 60/40" co-payment scheme ahead of Friday's registration deadline.
Deputy government spokeswoman Lalida Persvivatana said on Friday that the scheme, which opened for registration on May 25, had continued to attract widespread participation from both consumers and businesses nationwide.
As of Thursday, more than 26.2 million people had registered, with 25.48 million successfully approved for benefits.
Of these, 18.84 million participants -- around 74% -- had previously joined the earlier "Khon La Khrueng Plus" programme, while 6.64 million were new applicants, indicating expanding public access to state welfare initiatives.
The largest share of successful registrations came from people aged 31-45, accounting for more than 8.2 million participants, followed by those aged 46-60 with 7.2 million, and the 21-30 age group with 4.7 million. Women represented 56% of approved registrants.
Business participation also remained strong. More than 1.02 million merchants had registered for the scheme, with over 652,000 already approved and operational.
Food and beverage outlets formed the largest participating category, followed by general retailers, state-backed "Blue Flag" shops, Otop community enterprises, and public transport operators.
The northeastern region recorded the highest number of participating businesses, while Bangkok remained the single province with the largest concentration of registered merchants.
Ms Lalida said the government was pressing ahead with measures to stimulate grassroots economic activity, reduce living costs, strengthen purchasing power, and generate income for small businesses and local communities.
The registration system on the Paotang mobile application was scheduled to close at 10pm on Friday without extension, despite more than 4.1 million remaining entitlements still available as of 1pm.
Applicants awaiting eligibility verification within the three-day review period would not lose their rights provided they had registered before the deadline.
DPM Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the programme was introduced partly in response to rising energy costs linked to the Middle East war.
