Payment card for refugees not yet in use everywhere

The nationwide payment card for refugees is not yet being used everywhere in Saxony. In the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz, the introduction is still pending, the Ministry of the Interior announced on request. Three districts also still have to switch from a previous pilot solution to the new card. By the end of June, around 6,000 nationwide payment cards had been issued in Saxony.

Card should be available from mid-January

In the three remaining districts, the card should be available in "August/September", according to the ministry. All ten districts had already introduced their own system in 2024 because they did not want to wait for the nationwide solution. There had been delays in switching to the new card because it initially did not include some of the functions of the old version.

The ministry said that the three major cities also wanted to introduce the payment card in August/September. The technical requirements for nationwide use first had to be created there. A decree from the Ministry of the Interior had ordered the introduction of the card in all 13 districts and cities from mid-January 2025.

Only 50 euros in cash per month

Asylum seekers can use the card to pay for purchases without cash, among other things. It can also be used to pay for cell phone contracts or public transport tickets. As a rule, cash withdrawals are only permitted up to 50 euros per month.

The payment card is intended to prevent people from transferring state benefits for asylum seekers to their countries of origin. The Ministry of the Interior left the question of how much money has flowed out of Saxony in this way in the past and whether the card prevents transfer payments unanswered. "Foreign transfers are no longer possible with the payment card," it simply said.