“Faster”, “more consistent”, “harder” – these were the words that were regularly used when Prime Minister and CSU leader Markus Söder commented on the payment card with benefit credits for asylum seekers in recent months. And that’s what they are this Wednesday, when Söder presented the new Bavarian payment card in Munich with Interior State Secretary Sandro Kirchner and the Fürstenfeldbruck district administrator and chairman of the district council, Thomas Karmasin (both also CSU). And thus the starting signal for their deployment from this Thursday in four pilot communities.
The number of refugees is higher than it has been since 2016, says Söder, “the measures taken so far are not enough, which ultimately endangers democratic stability.” There is therefore an urgent need for a “fundamentally different, stronger and more consistent application of the laws”. The payment card is an important measure, even if it “does not solve all problems”.
Söder’s expectations of the payment card are obviously immense. “We say no to money transfers abroad,” he says. “This will significantly reduce the supply of money for smugglers and smugglers.” With the new payment card, asylum seekers can only buy everyday items. Transfers abroad and to third parties are generally not possible with it. At the same time, the “social incentives” for refugees to come to Bavaria would be reduced. Because you can withdraw a maximum of 50 euros in cash for free use with the payment card, other federal states want to make 100 to 200 euros in cash available to asylum seekers.
The card also cannot be used for online purchases. And it only applies in the district in which the respective asylum seeker is accommodated – at least as long as he or she is required to reside there. At the end of the second quarter, all asylum seekers aged 14 and over in Bavaria who receive social benefits should be equipped with the payment card. Söder puts their number at around 70,000.
The payment card itself is a blue Mastercard and also bears its emblem. The authorities book the amount that the respective asylum seeker is legally entitled to on a monthly basis. They can then use the card to shop in all stores in the region in which they are staying. The four pilot municipalities in which the payment card will be issued from Thursday are the districts of Fürstenfeldbruck, Traunstein and Günzburg and the independent city of Straubing.
The Fürstenfeldbruck district administrator Karmasin is unconditionally committed to the new system. According to his “conviction and years of experience,” the cash payments to asylum seekers so far are an incentive to come to Bavaria and Germany, even if scientists deny this. And of course, asylum seekers use the money they get here to pay smugglers and send some back home, says Karmasin. He is therefore grateful that Bavaria is introducing the new system much faster than the federal government.
“Record-breakingly fast” versus “sloppy version”
Interior State Secretary Kirchner emphasizes that Bavaria “wanted to be faster” than the other federal states with the new system. Although that didn’t quite work, the payment card has been available in Hamburg for around five weeks. Nevertheless, Bavaria is “record-breakingly fast,” says Kirchner. Especially since the Free State, unlike the city state of Hamburg, is a large country and will not only introduce the new system in one anchor center, but in all districts and municipalities. Kirchner also points out that the employees in the district offices can adapt the payment cards individually for the respective holders, so that, for example, it is also possible to pay legal fees or a 49-euro ticket. Asylum workers had repeatedly feared that something like this would not be possible with the new system and spoke of discrimination.
At the end of January, 14 of the 16 federal states agreed on a joint procurement process for the payment card, which should be completed by the end of summer. Only Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania go their own way. There was a dispute about the payment card in the Berlin traffic light coalition. From the perspective of the SPD and FDP, there needs to be a federal regulation for them. The Greens don’t think this is necessary. Söder calls the dispute this Wednesday unhelpful and another example of “the Greens blocking the traffic lights.” At the same time, he explains that from a Bavarian perspective the legal basis is sufficient.
There is sharp criticism from the Greens. “The Söder government could introduce a payment card that is properly designed and free of discrimination,” says the integration policy spokeswoman for the Green parliamentary group, Gülseren Demirel. “The CSU, however, once again opts for the sloppy option. Caught in the regulars’ table tunnel, it forgets the simplest basics. Namely aspects such as legal security and data protection.”