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Hanover enables refugees to pay by card

Refugees without a German bank account will in future receive a debit card in Hanover to pay without cash. As Lord Mayor Belit Onay said on Friday, the capital of Lower Saxony will load the money to which the immigrants are entitled under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act onto the card as a...

A bank customer inserts her debit card into an ATM. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de
A bank customer inserts her debit card into an ATM. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Migration - Hanover enables refugees to pay by card

Refugees without a German bank account will in future receive a debit card in Hanover to pay without cash. As Lord Mayor Belit Onay said on Friday, the capital of Lower Saxony will load the money to which the immigrants are entitled under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act onto the card as a monthly credit. This is significantly less time-consuming than the previous manual issuing of commitment slips and the refugees no longer have to queue to get their money.

The Green politician emphasized that there would be no restriction on the use of cards. On the contrary, the aim is to enable refugees to participate more. Visually, the cards look like any other payment card - the refugee status of the user is therefore not recognizable when paying. Cooperation with the card provider Visa should 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 so far. In the future, the number of users could rise to 300 to 400 - including welfare recipients who do not have a German bank 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.

Read also:

  1. This innovative system for migrants without a German bank account has been implemented in several municipalities across Lower Saxony, with Hanover being the first major city to adopt it.
  2. The system allows refugees to use a debit card for card payments, eliminating the need for them to queue and manually receive commitment slips.
  3. Belit Onay, the Lord Mayor of Hanover, highlighted that the debit card will not impose any restrictions on the refugees' use of the card, but instead, aim to increase their participation in various activities.
  4. The city of Hanover collaborates with Visa to ensure the high acceptance of the debit card in various establishments across Germany, making everyday transactions more convenient for refugees.
  5. The scheme has already been trialed by nearly 70 refugees in a pilot phase, with predictions of up to 400 asylum seekers and welfare recipients benefiting from the card payment system in the future.

Source: www.stern.de

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