Bavaria wants to restrict cash payments to asylum seekers more quickly and comprehensively than other federal states. The Free State will replace cash payments with benefits in kind using a payment card sooner than others, said Prime Minister Markus Söder to “Bild am Sonntag”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/.”Our payment card comes faster and is harder,” said the CSU -Boss. “While the card is only being advertised elsewhere, we will start testing it in practice in a month.”
According to the newspaper, a pilot project is planned in four municipalities. The “Bayern Card” is intended to enable significantly fewer cash withdrawals than is envisaged in other federal states. It should only be able to be used near the accommodation and apply to a very limited range of goods. “Only goods for everyday use can be purchased in shops,” said Söder. “We are stopping online shopping, gambling and transfers abroad. Cash is only available as small pocket money up to 50 euros.”
According to Hesse, 14 of the 16 federal states agreed on standards for a payment card for asylum seekers on Wednesday. In addition to the Free State of Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is also going its own way.
“With the introduction of the payment card, we are reducing the administrative burden on municipalities, preventing the possibility of transferring money from state support to the countries of origin and thereby combating inhumane smuggling crime,” said Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) as chairman of the Prime Minister’s Conference.