As long as the landlord doesn’t refuse to accept card payment, people in this country are free to decide how they pay their bills. Recently, however, politicians have been discussing whether refugees should no longer receive their social benefits in cash in the future. Union politicians in particular have the idea that they will no longer receive coins and notes, but that the money will be transferred to a special payment card. Among other things, they want to prevent refugees from sending money to their home countries.
Jörg Schwittala was already working on a payment card for refugees when the country was not yet arguing about it. The self-employed consultant has developed the “SocialCard”, which he would like to soon launch in German cities. It should come either as a plastic card for your wallet or as a multilingual app for your smartphone.
“So far, asylum seekers without an account often have to wait in line to receive their social benefits,” says Schwitalla. Even though refugees in this country generally have the right to open a checking account, newcomers in particular often do not have one. These people receive their money in cash – either directly from the social welfare office or at the bank counter. “This is tedious and time-consuming for those affected and employees,” says Schwitalla. The new payment card is intended to simplify this process. If a refugee takes advantage of the offer, the monthly social benefits – for single adults this is 410 euros – will in future be received on the card linked to an IBAN.
There is disagreement about what functions the card should have
This means that people can pay cashless in retail stores or order something online. Like a conventional debit card, you can also use it to withdraw cash from ATMs. However, this will cost two euros unless the municipalities pay for it. The Visa logo is emblazoned on the cards, and they should not be visually distinguishable from other payment cards. If a refugee pays with it at the checkout, he or she cannot be recognized as such – and is therefore intended to be protected from stigmatization.
“If a card like this enables more participation for refugees without their own account, that’s great,” says Muzaffer Öztürkyilmaz from the Lower Saxony Refugee Council. The city of Hanover is currently testing a payment card for refugees and wants to use it to promote participation and relieve the burden on administration. But in some places politicians are making no secret of the fact that they are more concerned with the opposite. In order to remove incentives to flee, Bavaria and Saxony, for example, are considering a chip card that could be used hardly ever withdraw cash and only shop in certain stores should be allowed. It would be conceivable, for example, that refugees would not be able to spend money on alcohol, cigarettes or gambling. This is also intended to prevent them from sending cash to their home countries or passing it on to smugglers. “We think that the state has no mandate to educate refugees,” criticizes Öztürkyilmaz. “Furthermore, this step would paint the picture of a drinking, smoking and gambling asylum seeker, for which there is no empirical evidence whatsoever.”
Technically, it would also be conceivable to restrict functions of Jörg Schwitalla’s “SocialCard”. “I see myself as a service provider for the municipalities and I follow what politicians want,” he says. What such a card can or cannot do in the future could depend heavily on the issuing city.