The southern German state of Bavaria plans to introduce a payment card system for asylum seekers from next spring.

The state government and other supporters of the move say that cutting off cash payments to asylum seekers and replacing them with payment in kind will make Germany a less attractive destination for migrants.

The move is "sensible and necessary," Florian Streibl, the parliamentary group leader of the center-right Free Voters party was quoted by Bavarian state media as saying. "[It also] removes pull factors, i.e. incentives for immigration."

The Free Democratic Party (FDP) parliamentary group leader, Christian Dürr, said last month during national debates about a payment card, "We want no more cash payments, because they are an obvious pull factor."

The idea is that asylum seekers decide to come to Germany because of cash payments, and then use some money to send home to relatives in their home countries.

The government also claims that eliminating cash will help to combat the financing of people smugglers.

Also read: Germany wants to cut benefits for refugees

Bavaria rushes ahead

The payment card is to be introduced in all of the state’s so-called anchor centers (arrival, processing and return facilities for asylum seekers), as well as other asylum accommodation.

Bavaria, the country's largest state, is the first to approve the system, but other states are set to follow, after governments agreed at a migration summit earlier this month on the introduction of nationwide minimum standards and the development of a card system by the end of 2024.

Bavaria’s premier, Markus Söder, hopes the system will go ahead in his state well before that.

How will the card work?

If it does, asylum seekers will soon be using a payment card to pay in stores in a similar way to a debit card.

However, unlike with a normal debit card, it won’t be possible to transfer money to an account or to make online purchases.

There could also be further restrictions, such as where the card can be used, even down to certain designated postcode zones, and how much cash can be withdrawn – for example a monthly limit.

Read also: Germany: How much welfare do asylum seekers get, and is it a 'pull factor'?

Mixed reception

Bavaria’s plan to introduce the payment card was welcomed by the state leader of the right-wing party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), Katrin Ebner-Steiner, who said the party had long been calling for a payment in kind system for asylum seekers. "Germany should no longer be seen as a social paradise for 'illegal migrants'," she said.

But the introduction of cards to replace cash has been criticized in some quarters. Katharina Schulze, leader of the Greens in the Bavarian parliament, said it could create higher administrative and bureaucratic costs.

Pro-Asyl, Germany's largest refugee advocacy organization, says benefits in kind are "diminishing and humiliating."

"The loss of money deprives people of their autonomy," the group says.

Many people have also argued against the idea that cash payments to asylum seekers create incentives for migrants to choose Germany as a destination.

Citing a number of studies and research publications, including a recent investigation by the public broadcaster ARD, a study by the scientific committee of the Bundestag, and another study by the German office for migration and refugees (BAMF), Pro-Asyl says that state payments to asylum seekers have little impact on their choice of final destination, in contrast to the role played by the location of family and community, and language.

With KNA