The rollout of a payment card system for refugees in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, is facing significant challenges and uneven adoption rates, according to recent reports. Currently, approximately one-third of the state’s municipalities intend to implement the card, another third have opted against it and a further third remain undecided.
Andreas Wohland, Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Associations of NRW, expressed concern over the limited uptake, stating that the current situation sends a “bad signal”. The Städtetag NRW, an association of cities and municipalities, confirmed a similar distribution amongst its members.
State Minister for Refugees Josefine Paul has defended the “opt-out” regulation, which allows municipalities the legal freedom to choose whether to introduce the card, emphasizing the importance of local autonomy and democratic decision-making processes. She noted the continued ability of municipalities to utilize existing systems.
However, practical implementation is hampered by outstanding technical hurdles. The promised SEPA transfer functionality, intended to allow cardholders to make payments, is not yet operational in NRW. The government acknowledges that the feature is still undergoing legal review and transfers and direct debits are currently unavailable.
The opposition within the state parliament has been highly critical, branding the system a “complete failure”. Lisa-Kristin Kapteinat, Deputy Leader of the SPD parliamentary group, criticized the initiative, particularly in light of the ruling coalition’s promotion of the card as a solution to refugee-related issues.
The NRW Refugee Council has also voiced strong criticism, characterizing the card as a form of “deterrence policy” that is detrimental to refugees, administrative staff and taxpayers alike. They argue that the system is costly and ineffective.