New pilot project: payment card for refugees starts in Trier!

New pilot project: payment card for refugees starts in Trier!

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the payment card for refugees will be introduced on Monday. The pilot project starts in the initial reception facility for asylum seekers in Trier. 50 to 80 participants are to be selected in the first week. The preparation includes the recording of data and loading the maps. From January 13, 2025, the first payment cards are to be issued to asylum seekers, whereby the pilot phase is scheduled for a period of four to six weeks.

The decision to choose Trier for the project is based on the fact that around three quarters of the asylum seekers in Rhineland-Palatinate are registered there. The payment card is given to the refugees when registering. It should contain state support services for livelihood, some of which are available as cash. Details on the amount that can be withdrawn with the payment card are currently still unclear, and the Ministry of Integration advises the municipalities not to take over the card quickly, since not all functions can be guaranteed, such as n-tv.de reported.

scope and goal of the project

Almost 550 people are currently housed in the Trier initial reception facility. If the pilot project is successful, the payment card will also be introduced in other state institutions. Transfers and direct debits with the card are expected to be possible at the earliest in mid -February. Refugees in the pilot project should initially remain in the initial reception and not be distributed to the municipalities. The municipal associations, such as noted.

Rheinland-Palatinate spoke in favor of an upper limit of 50 euros in cash per month and plans to introduce the payment card system together with the service provider Secupay. So far, the payment card has already been introduced in Pirmasens and in the Rhine-Palatinate district. With this new system, state services are to be granted cashless and relieved the administrations.

-transmitted by West-Ost-Medien