Bersenbrück/Thuringia, 20 March 2024 – SocialCard has established itself in Thuringia as an important payment solution for social benefits for refugees: of the 17 districts, six have signed contracts with Publk GmbH, the developer of SocialCard. The SocialCard gives eligible individuals in the Thuringian districts of Hildburghausen, Nordhausen, Sömmerda, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Altenburger Land and Kyffhäuserkreis quick and easy access to their social benefits. According to the latest figures, over 2,000 cards have been requested by the districts.
“We see confirmation of the quality of our SocialCard in Thuringia: many different districts with very different requirements have now introduced the SocialCard without any problems. The implementation and use of the cards are running smoothly. This directly reduces the workload of administrative staff, who now have more staff capacity available. The feedback has been exclusively positive,” says Joerg Schwitalla, founder and managing director of Publk GmbH.
The SocialCard is a prepaid Visa debit card that is not linked to a bank account. Social benefits that were previously paid in cash are now credited to the payment card on a monthly basis via SEPA transfer. Authorities or administrations create the cards once, automatically receive an individual IBAN for each card and thus replace the previous cash payments.
The SocialCard can be loaded digitally into a wallet or issued as a physical card. If lost or stolen, the card can be blocked immediately and the credit transferred to a new card. The card has a neutral design and is visually indistinguishable from other cards issued by banks, for example.
Individual functions for each district
The SocialCard can be customised to the requirements of individual districts. For example, districts can administer regional restrictions on card use, exclude online payments or set individual monthly cash withdrawal limits.
Thuringia is also participating in the nationwide tender for a standardised payment card. With the rapid implementation of the simplified payment practice based on the SocialCard, the districts are already gaining valuable experience. The simplicity of implementing the SocialCard was particularly convincing. The introduction of the solution has provided noticeable relief for local authorities, as the SocialCard can be seamlessly integrated into
existing infrastructures and does not require any additional hardware or software.
“Following Hanover, where the SocialCard has been in use since 2023, and Hamburg, which is the first federal state to pilot the payment card, districts in Thuringia are now also testing our solution for cashless payment of social benefits. The SocialCard has proven in practical tests that it is a suitable solution that can be adapted with maximum flexibility to the individual requirements of local authorities,” concludes Joerg Schwitalla.
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