Bersenbrück/Ludwigshafen, 26 March 2024 – The Rhine-Palatinate district is the first region in Rhineland-Palatinate to introduce the SocialCard for refugees and other benefit recipients. Starting in April, the district will gradually issue around 600 cards to eligible individuals. At the same time, cash payments to beneficiaries will be discontinued to the same extent.
With the payment card, the Rhine-Palatinate district is implementing the guidelines of the political bodies in the district – i.e. the district committee and the district council. Refugees in the Rhine-Palatinate district will no longer receive state benefits in cash. Instead, the amount will be credited to the card, which works like a normal debit card: refugees can use it to shop as normal and also withdraw cash, although withdrawals are limited to 200 euros per month. This limit increases by 70 euros for each additional person in the household.
“The payment card has decisive advantages – both for us as an administration and for the refugees,” explains District Administrator Clemens Körner. “It offers greater security for our employees in the district office, as there will no longer be large amounts of cash in circulation on the day the benefits are paid out. At the same time, the payment card ensures that refugees actually use the money for their living expenses in Germany – and do not send it to their home countries or even use it to finance human trafficking gangs.”
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 card is initially loaded by the district, and subsequent top-ups are then carried out by the municipalities. The responsible authorities receive an individual IBAN for each card, to which the benefits can be made available to the beneficiaries via SEPA transfer. The SocialCard is based on a conventional Visa debit card and is operated on a credit basis. It can be issued in digital form for smartphones or as a physical card and 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 increasingly common in Germany. The card looks no different from a standard bank card, so users are not stigmatised when paying.
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 processes. 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