Bersenbrück/Erzgebirgskreis, 25 April 2024 – Since April, refugees and other benefit recipients in the Erzgebirgskreis district have been able to pay with the SocialCard. In future, they will no longer receive state benefits in cash, but in the form of a physical card or digitally for their smartphones. Currently, 1,400 cards are being prepared, which will be loaded in accordance with the standard rates set out in the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act.
“With the SocialCard, we have gained a powerful partner with whom we will gradually introduce a proven payment card system for asylum seekers in the Erzgebirgskreis district. The new system will help us to make our payment processes more efficient in future and significantly reduce the administrative workload involved,” explains District Administrator Rico Anton. “At the same time, the payment card will also eliminate false incentives that previously existed in the form of high cash payments or the possibility of international transfers. This is important because the money should be used for what it is intended: to secure livelihoods in Germany.”
Payment of benefits will be accelerated
The introduction of the SocialCard will also speed up payments and streamline the relevant administrative processes. Joerg Schwitalla, founder and managing director of Publk GmbH, emphasises the card’s immediate usability: “German public authorities are lacking skilled workers. The SocialCard will give our employees the breathing space they urgently need. The most important thing here is that its introduction does not require any additional training, hardware or software in local authorities. The card can be used immediately and integrated into the existing infrastructure.”
The responsible authorities receive an individual IBAN for each card, to which the benefits can be transferred to the beneficiaries via SEPA transfer. The SocialCard is based on a conventional Visa debit card and is managed on a credit basis. It can be flexibly adapted to the individual needs of municipalities and districts.
The card looks like any normal bank card
The introduction of a payment card for refugees offers numerous advantages not only for authorities but also for benefit recipients: With the SocialCard, they can integrate into everyday social life without discrimination, as cashless payment is becoming more and more the norm in Germany. The card looks no different
from a standard bank card, so users are not stigmatised when making payments.
The SocialCard can be used at all Visa acceptance points, offering a high degree of flexibility and equal participation in public life. It also ensures maximum security: if a cardholder loses their card or it is stolen, it can be blocked and a replacement card issued.
About the SocialCard
The SocialCard digitises the payment of social benefits. It is a “cash and cheque equivalent”. The SocialCard is issued as a Visa debit card and enables benefit recipients to receive their social benefits quickly and easily. It thus offers them dignified participation in everyday life. At the same time, it reduces the administrative burden on local authorities. Wherever cash or cheques have been used up to now, the SocialCard can simplify and streamline payments by digitising cash processes.
About Publk
Publk specialises in digitising payments in the public sector that were previously made in cash or by cheque. Publk understands the payment needs of local authorities and has developed the SocialCard, a solution that is optimally tailored to all requirements and legal and regulatory specifications.
Press
Fink & Fuchs AG
Simone Motschmann
Tel.: 0611-74131-929
Email: socialcard@finkfuchs.de