- Temporarily, the court has deemed the usage of payment cards for asylum seekers as legitimate.
The Munich Administrative Court turned down two pressing petitions opposing the novel financial card for asylum seekers. As a consequence, the two petitioners – an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone and a denied asylum seeker from Nigeria – won't be receiving monetary payments in the interim, pending a definitive judicial ruling.
The court cited that the use of the card wasn't evidently unlawful. Legislation had sanctioned the card as a potential form of aid. The relevant authority has the discretion to decide which instances the card is used in. At first glance, there were no compelling reasons for the authority to continue offering cash benefits (Cases Nos. S 42 AY 63/24 ER and S 52 AY 65/24 ER).
Courts reach different conclusions in specific situations.
The payment card system is now operational across Bavaria. The cards enable purchases at retailers and allow the withdrawal of up to 50 euros in cash each month. The card has geographical restrictions and is not intended for online shopping. The state government's objective is to mitigate the misuse of benefits and subsequently, migration.
Refugee organizations have consistently criticized this initiative. In contrast to the Munich court, the Nuremberg Administrative Court has already granted pressing applications from asylum seekers who had contested limitations imposed by the payment card.
The Sierra Leonean applicant pointed out several reasons, such as her eye disease necessitating cash payments for taxi services – where card payment may not always be accepted.
The second applicant – whose procedure had already concluded due to his illness – argued that the payment card was only valid for new asylum seekers, but the Munich Administrative Court didn't see any reason to prohibit the authorities from using the payment card until a definitive judicial ruling in both cases.
The financial sector has been involved in the development of the payment card system for asylum seekers. The implementation of this system in Bavaria aims to reduce the misuse of benefits in the financial sector.
