For the past year, the Tübingen District Office has been issuing payment cards to refugees instead of cash. Campaign groups consider the payment cards to be discriminatory and are offering an “exchange scheme”: holders of a payment card can purchase vouchers in shops. They can exchange these for cash once a week at the Bachgasse Community Centre in Tübingen.
The switch to payment cards has been completed, according to a response to an enquiry from tuenews INTERNATIONAL by the Refugee and Integration Department at the Tübingen District Office. This department is responsible for issuing the payment cards. Refugees can now only withdraw 50 euros per month using them. If they wish to transfer money to someone, the District Office must have approved the recipient. A total of 300 cards have been issued to eligible recipients who receive money under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act.
Additional effort required for the switch
Whether the introduction of the payment card will bring relief cannot yet be assessed at this stage, according to the Tübingen District Office. This will only become clear in the course of the year. The switch has initially caused some hassle. Not all problems have been resolved yet. For example, new cards still have to be issued if the password is forgotten, it added. A significant advantage is that the administration does not have to hand out cash to people who do not have a current account.
Fewer refugees in the Tübingen district
However, at the time of the switch, very few of those affected did not have their own current account, criticised Anna Mayer from the campaign “Bank cards for all – instead of payment cards” (https://keep.tuebingen.social/bezahlkarte/de). According to a query from the “Die Linke” party in the district council, 248 out of 260 eligible individuals had a current account. However, the administrative burden is now manageable because the number of refugees has also fallen. In 2025, the district of Tübingen took in 45 new refugees. The previous year, the figure was 245, according to information from the district administration.
Sufficient volunteers for the exchange scheme
Since March 2025, refugees have been able to exchange vouchers for cash on a weekly basis at the Bachgasse community centre in Tübingen. The scheme has been very well received, Anna Mayer told tuenews INTERNATIONAL. At the start of the month, when the payment cards are freshly topped up, 20 to 30 people turn up, including some from other districts. There are also such exchange points in Mössingen and Reutlingen.
There are enough supporters to take the vouchers purchased in supermarkets, chemists and discount stores. Mayer is not aware of any problems refugees have encountered when purchasing the vouchers. According to media reports, cashiers in other cities such as Berlin or Nuremberg (https://taz.de/Diskriminierung-via-Bezahlkarte/!6148119/) are said to have refused to issue them. The Tübingen activist behind the exchange campaign would like to see the payment card for refugees abolished again: “So that refugees are no longer restricted in their options.“
Bundestag approves introduction of payment card
In 2024, the Bundestag amended the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act regarding the payment card. Instead of paying state benefits in cash or by cheque, the money is credited to the card. Among other things, this is intended to prevent payments to people-smugglers or to families in the home countries. This is intended to reduce the incentive for so-called irregular migration.
The card is also intended to ease the administrative burden on local authorities.
Further information:
https://tuenews.de/aktion-kartentausch-im-landkreis-tuebingen-gut-angenommen/
https://tuenews.de/bezahlkarte-fuer-gefluechtete-im-kreis-tuebingen-gestartet/
https://www.kreis-tuebingen.de/soziales/migration+integration/asylbewerberleistungen/bezahlkarte
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/bezahlkarte-fluechtlinge-2263574
By Bernhard Kirschner
tun26021005