The introduction of a payment card for asylum seekers in Austria has taken another step forward. The Ministry of the Interior has completed the tender for the project and awarded the contract to the German firm Paycenter.
Seven federal states participated in the tender and they are now aiming to roll out the payment card nationwide. However, Lower Austria will continue to use its own model and Vienna will stick to its existing approach.
The payment card will in the future store all social benefits, such as pocket money and housing allowance for asylum seekers. Transfers abroad will no longer be possible using the card. The main goal of the introduction is to ensure the direct and secure disbursement of benefits. Additionally, the aim is to reduce administrative burdens and bureaucratic hurdles.
The tender was organized by the Federal Procurement Agency, with the goal of concluding a flexible framework agreement that would allow the participating federal states to use the service cards as needed.
Upper Austria has already been running a pilot project since July, initially using the “Social Card” of the German provider Publk GmbH. A transition to the Paycenter cards will, however, be evaluated in the medium term.
Payment card also introduced in Germany
In Germany, the introduction of the payment card for asylum seekers is also making progress. Since March, asylum seekers in Bavaria have been receiving the new payment card from Paycenter, which functions as a Mastercard on a credit basis. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the pilot phase has started and the card will also be introduced in Emden in March 2025.
The payment card replaces cash and is issued as a Visa debit card, allowing recipients to manage their benefits digitally, for example, through Apple Pay or Google Pay. In Germany, the payment card is intended to simplify administration and make the disbursement of social benefits more efficient.
However, critics see the 50-euro monthly cash limit as problematic, as it could threaten the human dignity minimum.
In total, the payment card is expected to contribute to the optimization of the administration of asylum seeker benefits in both Austria and Germany.