Germany is introducing a new special debit card for asylum seekers to use at local shops and to pay for services. InfoMigrants explains how it works.
The card, designed to control benefits to asylum seekers and to prevent money transfers abroad, has long been debated as a tool to reduce cash benefits which some have criticized as a false incentive for migration into Germany. Migrant advocacy groups have criticized the new regulation as discriminatory — especially as the country is still much more cash-centric than many other European states.