“No restrictions”
Hanover allows refugees to pay by card
December 8, 2023, 2:17 p.m
The debate between the federal and state governments about payment cards for asylum seekers was only a few weeks ago – now Hanover is rushing forward. In the Lower Saxony capital, refugees will be able to pay cashless in the future. This is primarily intended to make everyday life easier for them.
Refugees without a German bank account in Hanover will in future receive a debit card to pay without cash. As Mayor Belit Onay said, the Lower Saxony state capital loads the money that immigrants are entitled to under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act onto the card as a monthly credit. This is significantly less complicated than the previous manual issuing of commitment certificates, and the refugees no longer have to wait in line to get their money.
A few weeks ago, the federal states were already debating a payment card for asylum seekers. The Prime Minister and Olaf Scholz agreed that a federal-state working group should develop proposals for nationwide uniform minimum standards by January 31st. Accordingly, asylum seekers should have part of their credit transferred to a card – the special payment card is intended to prevent transfers to the refugees’ country of origin, it was said.
In Hanover there are expressly no restrictions on the use of the cards now issued, emphasized Onay. On the contrary, this should enable refugees to participate more. Visually, the cards look like any other payment card – so the user’s refugee status cannot be recognized when paying. A cooperation with the card provider Visa is intended to ensure a high level of acceptance of the card.
According to the city, almost 70 asylum seekers have received the card in a pilot phase. In the future, the number of users could rise to 300 to 400 – including social welfare recipients who do not have a German account. According to Onay, Hanover is the first major German city to introduce this system for social benefits. The social card was developed by Publk GmbH from Bersenbrück near Osnabrück.