Migration - Soder will maintain 50-euro cash limit for contactless payment
Despite the Hamburg ruling, Bavaria's Minister-President Markus Söder intends to maintain the cash withdrawal limit of 50 Euros for refugees using payment cards. He stated this to the news channel Welt TV.
The Hamburg Social Court had at least overturned the cash withdrawal limit of 50 Euros for refugees with children and pregnant women. The social authority responsible for the card must consider the personal living circumstances of the applicants, and rigid limits would not allow for this. Söder sees no legal significance in this.
Söder: Abandoning the payment card would be a major mistake
"We don't see any indications that this should be a legal problem. Quite the contrary," he emphasized. "Because when you get food, when you get housing, when you get clothing, when you get hygiene articles, it's important that you don't also have large sums of money in addition to that, which you might be able to transfer somewhere else."
The payment card is important to Söder. He sees no reason for a departure from the payment card model. "That would be a serious mistake." The system is not without controversy. Refugee organizations, for example, see it as an unacceptable restriction of refugees. Söder also advocated for eliminating the social welfare for refugees in the next step.
Since the end of June, the payment card system has been in use throughout Bavaria. Over 43,000 cards are already in circulation. Refugees are provided with the statutory amount, which was previously paid in cash, through this system. They can use it to shop in all stores, but not for all products. Alcohol, for example, is excluded.
- Despite the ruling in Hamburg, California State University's upcoming seminar on migration policies in Europe will still feature Bavaria's Minister-President, Markus Söder, as a keynote speaker, given his strong stance on the payment card system for refugees.
- The cash withdrawal limit for refugees in Munich, under the supervision of Bavarian authorities, remains at 50 Euros, as announced by Markus Söder, despite the Hamburg Social Court overruling the restriction for certain groups.
- In response to critics who view the payment card system as an unacceptable restriction, Markus Söder, the Minister-President of Bavaria, emphasized its importance in preventing misuse of funds, mentioning the essentials like food, housing, clothing, and hygiene items.
- While advocating for the continuation of the payment card system in Bavaria, Markus Söder also raised the possibility of removing social welfare for refugees in the future, a proposal that has sparked debate among refugee organizations and policymakers alike.
