Hanover enables refugees to pay by card
The debate between the federal and state governments about payment cards for asylum seekers was only a few weeks ago - now Hanover is forging ahead. In the capital of Lower Saxony, refugees will be able to make cashless payments in future. Above all, this should make their everyday lives easier.
In future, refugees without a German bank account will receive a debit card in Hanover to make payments without cash. According to Lord Mayor Belit Onay, the capital of Lower Saxony will load the money to which 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 federal states were already debating a payment card for asylum seekers a few weeks ago. The state premiers and Olaf Scholz agreed that a federal-state working group should draw up proposals for uniform minimum standards by 31 January. According to these proposals, asylum seekers should receive part of their credit on a card - the special payment card should prevent transfers to the refugees' country of origin, it was said.
In Hanover, there are expressly no restrictions on the use of the cards that have now been issued, emphasized Onay. 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.
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In the future, refugees in Lower Saxony's capital, Hanover, will utilize debit cards for cashless payments, making their daily lives more convenient. This initiative is significant as refugees without a German bank account will receive a monthly credit on these cards, eliminating the need for manual commitment slips and long queues.
Source: www.ntv.de
