By Bernhard Kirschner
Refugees in the district of Tübingen can now also get a payment card. The Asylum Seekers Benefits Department of the District Office in Tübingen is responsible for this. The card can be picked up there after you have been contacted and received an appointment, according to a statement.
Detailed information in different languages can be found on the homepage
In principle, all adult recipients of benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act should receive the payment card. It can be used as a plastic card or as a digital card in a smartphone. What can be done with it and what needs to be considered can be found on a special website of the district office: District of Tübingen | Asylum Seekers’ Benefits
50 euros in cash per month
You can use the card to pay wherever Visa cards are accepted. To pay in a store, you need the card and the PIN that was issued to you when you applied for the card at the District Office. Each person can withdraw 50 euros in cash per month. This is possible free of charge in many retail stores. At an ATM, a withdrawal costs 65 cents.
Transfers with a payment card
With a payment card, you can only transfer money to approved recipients within Germany. Online trading is also only possible to a limited extent. No money can be transferred to the card. Detailed information can be found at www.socialcard.de
Current account still possible
Beneficiaries who work and thus cover their living expenses predominantly and regularly (for more than three months) will have their benefits paid into their current account. A so-called basic account at a bank is therefore still possible.
Federal and state governments decide on payment card
The federal government and the states have decided to introduce a payment card in 2024. The Asylum Seekers Benefits Act has been amended accordingly. Instead of paying out state benefits in cash or by check, the money will be posted to the card, according to a statement from the federal government. Among other things, this is intended to prevent cash payments to smugglers or to families in the home countries. This is intended to reduce the incentive for so-called irregular migration. In addition, the card is intended to relieve cities and municipalities of administrative work: Federal government | Payment card for refugees
criticism from the refugee council
The Baden-Württemberg Refugee Council has criticized the 2024 payment card as a tool of deterrence policy and called on the state government to implement it in a non-discriminatory manner. It described the restrictions as far-reaching interventions in the personal lives of those seeking protection. The refugee council does not expect the card to deter people from fleeing to Germany.
tun25012802