More than a year and a half after Germany's federal states decided to introduce a payment card for asylum seekers, it still isn't available nationwide yet.

Contrary to promises made, the use of the card remains inconsistent and is still not available in all municipalities -- even though all 16 states except Berlin have now introduced the card. That's according to a survey conducted by the news agency epd among the relevant state ministries

In some cases, according to epd, technical problems are the reason, while municipalities' resistance to the payment system is to blame in other cases.

The survey also found that the card is currently used primarily in initial reception facilities, especially in the larger states. These facilities are funded by the states, while the municipalities are responsible for housing recognized refugees.

"The municipalities that have introduced the card currently have to review and approve numerous applications for transfers or online purchases," Lena Frerichs of the non-profit Society for Civil Rights (GFF) told InfoMigrants. As an example of technical problems, she noted that despite announcements to the contrary, "online purchases with the payment card do not work in Hamburg", which an answer from Hamburg's Senate to an inquiry by the city's Left party confirmed earlier this month.

In March, the research service of the German Parliament stated that it is up to local authorities whether or not to introduce payment cards for asylum seekers who do not live in a reception center or shared accommodation.

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Different state, different stage

In the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, only asylum seekers in state facilities have received the card so far. According to the state Ministry of Integration, there have been no municipal requests for the card to date, although this is expected to change in the coming weeks, epd reported.

The responsible ministry in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's northernmost state, said the lack of reliable software interfaces has so far prevented the card from being rolled out to municipalities.

Following changes to the programming, pilot projects are now to be launched there and the card should be available throughout the state by the end of the year, according to the ministry.

In Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the card is also currently available in state reception facilities only. In future, epd reported, local authorities there will be able to decide whether or not to introduce the payment card.

In Lower Saxony, meanwhile, cities are resisting the card due to fears of additional costs. Officials in the city of Osnabrück are considering filing a lawsuit before the Lower Saxony state court.

Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt, in contrast, have announced a comprehensive introduction.

The slow rollout of the payment card seekers is apparently also bothering German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"The introduction of a standardized nationwide payment card is long overdue," Merz said after a meeting with the Bavarian state government last week. "We will re-evaluate this within the coalition and address the question of whether we can reach a unified solution," he said, adding that he was aiming for a uniform regulation for all federal states within the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act.

What benefits do refugees receive?

In the first few months after arriving in Germany, asylum seekers are entitled to "basic benefits". These are intended to cover accommodation, food, clothing and other "necessary needs". To pay for these things, asylum seekers and migrants with refugee status generally receive benefits in kind in the initial reception centers in the federal states.

In addition, the basic benefits are intended to cover the "necessary personal needs" of daily life. These are primarily covered by benefits in kind, too; however, vouchers, cash benefits -- since the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act was updated in May 2024 -- and payment cards are also possible.

If asylum seekers receive their "personal needs" in full, this amounts to 204 euros for single people. If they move out of their reception centers, cash benefits are primarily provided for both necessary and personal needs. Single persons and couples receive 460 and 736 euros, respectively, for both necessary and personal needs.

Almost everywhere, the cash limit of 50 euros per month agreed upon by the heads of government of the federal states in 2023 also applies. Only Rhineland-Palatinate and Bremen allow significantly higher cash amounts: 130 and 120 euros, respectively.

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Why was the card proposed?

The introduction of the payment card for asylum seekers and refugees was advocated by the conservative CDU/CSU faction, the liberal FDP, as well as the federal states, as an alternative to cash benefits.

The federal states then agreed to introduce such a card in the fall of 2023.

The payment cards are designed to prevent money transfers abroad and to deter payments to criminal traffickers. Additionally, it seeks to simplify the distribution of benefits and alleviate the administrative burden on local authorities of paying social benefits to asylum seekers.

According to epd, citing the state ministries, the reduced financial burden is proving to be true, even if the savings cannot yet be quantified due to the short time since its introduction.

The ministries point in particular to the high costs incurred to date for transport, security and monthly cash payments.

The Hamburg social welfare authority, for instance, told epd that administrative staff were already able to devote more time to other tasks. Rhineland-Palatinate also reported that having the benefits on the card instead of entirely in cash increased the "subjective feeling of security" among residents of reception centers.

Why is the rollout of the payment card taking so long?

After the conference of state premiers decided to introduce the payment card in November 2023, the Parliament (Bundestag) and its upper house (Bundesrat) gave the green light in April of last year.

Preceding the reasons mentioned above, the introduction of the project came to a standstill last year when a company that had lost the award procedure lodged an appeal with a regional court. A month later, the court nevertheless approved the award of the contract to a competitor -- a cooperation between several companies such as Secupay and Publk under the name SocialCard.

Are there any downsides to the card?

Migrant advocacy groups and experts criticize the cards as discriminatory, particularly in a country that remains heavily cash-based.

Aforementioned GFF, for instance, which is currently conducting main proceedings against the payment card with a flat-rate cash limit in the cities of Hamburg, Chemnitz and Dresden, claims that the restrictions of the card will push people below the poverty line. "With the payment card, daily needs that form part of the minimum subsistence level can no longer be covered or can only be covered at higher prices," GFF writes on its website.

GFF's Lena Frerichs, moreover, said that payment card also stigmatizes all asylum seekers, regardless of how likely their chances of success for asylum. "Payment cards with blanket restrictions deprive vulnerable people of the opportunity to shop independently and adequately," Frerichs told InfoMigrants.

Herbert Brücker, a senior researcher at the Institute for Employment Research, last year anticipated that the system would result in indirect costs. "The payment card restricts mobility and therefore also integration: Job hunting would be more difficult, asylum seekers would be cut off from certain goods and services," he told tagesschau.de.

Moreover, the limits the payment cards were the subject of several court rulings: In August 2024, for example, a Bavarian court ordered alternative methods of paying the monthly allowance to two asylum seekers, arguing that the payment cards were too restrictive for their needs.

with epd