Hanover, 8 December 2023 – The question of how asylum seekers receive social benefits is the subject of numerous political debates in current migration policy. Today, 8 December, the state capital of Hannover, together with the company Publk GmbH, became one of the first municipalities in Germany to present the SocialCard, which enables access to cashless payment transactions. The Visa debit card has been tested in Hannover for several months and is now being rolled out.
Since mid-November, almost 70 cards have already been issued to customers of the Hanover social welfare office who do not have their own bank account. Currently, around 200 asylum seekers arrive in Hanover every month who are entitled to the card due to their residence status. Feedback from customers and administrative staff has been consistently positive. The stigma felt by customers, which resulted from the “obligation slip”* as a special payment method and waiting in line, has now been eliminated. The administrative burden has been significantly reduced.
The state capital of Hanover is pushing ahead with the digitisation of public services. In 2023, almost 20 percent of housing benefit applications were already submitted online (2,478 out of a total of 12,756), which corresponds to around 250 online applications per month. The introduction of e-files for the granting of various social benefits will also be completed by the end of 2023. Around 450 administrative staff in the city of Hanover will then be working with it*.
Mayor Belit Onay said during the presentation of the product: “The SocialCard offers refugees non-discriminatory access to cashless payment. I consider the current debate about restrictions on the card and the discussion about benefits in kind to be wrong and counterproductive. This is about people in emergency situations whom we want to enable to participate in society. At the same time, we want to reduce the administrative burden associated with social benefits – and it works! The SocialCard stands for what Hannover is – a modern and innovative municipality.”
Sylvia Bruns, Head of Social Affairs for the City of Hanover, adds: “We are working flat out to digitise administrative processes. We are streamlining and digitising payment processes for both benefit recipients and administrative staff. Queues are a thing of the past, as is the need to tie up staff resources to issue commitment certificates.”
SocialCard: Product features
The SocialCard introduced in Hanover was developed by Publk GmbH, which specialises in the digitisation of payments in the public sector. “The SocialCard is based on a conventional Visa debit card, can be used immediately and is managed on a credit basis,” explains Joerg Schwitalla, founder and managing director of Publk GmbH. “It can be issued in digital form for smartphones or as a physical card for wallets. The city credits the social benefits to the card on a monthly basis via SEPA transfer – without any additional hardware or software, which makes implementation much easier.”
Only the city can credit the card – always the full amount of the benefit entitlement. Beneficiaries are free to decide how to use their credit. There are no restrictions on how the card can be used. It can be used at any ATM and in any shop that accepts Visa cards. The city does not monitor money transactions.
The SocialCard replaces the previous payment practice for benefit recipients without a German bank account, who previously received their benefits in the form of a monthly promissory note. This is a form with security features that the city uses to guarantee customers an amount for payment by the Sparkasse. The new SocialCard will be issued to all customers of the state capital Hanover who do not have a bank account. In addition to asylum seekers, this also includes people who receive assistance under SGB XII and do not have their own bank account.
Easy to use and wide reach
The SocialCard is no different in design from other cards issued by banks, for example. This means that benefit recipients can pay for their purchases by card without being stigmatised. If the card is lost or stolen, it can be blocked and the credit balance transferred to a new card. Visa has a wide network of retailers in Germany with more than one million acceptance points. SocialCard holders can pay at all of these locations. This guarantees a wide range of use for the card right from the start.
Development of the project in Hanover
The number of commitment certificates issued at the end of the month rose to more than 10,000 in the summer of 2022 due to the large number of refugees from Ukraine.
1,100. The distribution and redemption of the vouchers resulted in long queues in front of the social welfare office and the savings bank branch. “That’s why we looked for a digital solution for the non-discriminatory payment of benefits that did not require the creation of additional interfaces to the municipal social welfare programme,” said Dezernentin Bruns, explaining the LHH’s motivation. The availability of cards was initially delayed by the global shortage of raw materials at chip manufacturers. In the first step, customers did not consider the option of receiving cash via a mobile app on their mobile phones to be very practical, so the city decided to focus on switching to physical cards.
Rollout, test experiences and customer feedback
Tests with the first physical SocialCards began in autumn 2023. Following successful tests with a small number of cards, the market launch is now beginning on a larger scale. A team of administrators has been trained and authorised to handle the booking process. Minor process adjustments to the monthly card booking were quickly implemented. Almost 70 cards are already in circulation. Customer feedback has been positive so far. The card is perceived as easy to use. No problems have been reported to date with payment transactions in shops or when withdrawing cash from ATMs. The City of Hanover’s goal is to equip all eligible customers with the cards by early 2024 and thus completely switch the process to debit cards. The number of eligible recipients depends on the allocation by the state of Lower Saxony; currently, there are about 200 people per month. Based on current estimates, the city expects the number of card recipients to rise to between 300 and 400 cards.
Background information:
E-file:
The e-file aims to convert paper-based file management to electronic file management. This should simplify administrative processes in terms of application processing times and improve file management (clarity).
The e-file is used in various departments of the City of Hanover’s Social Services Division – in the departments for social affairs, senior citizens and social participation. This involves the granting of benefits in accordance with Social Code IX (SGB IX), Social Code XII (SGB XII), the State Blindness Allowance Act (LBliG), the Criminal Rehabilitation Act – Act on the Rehabilitation and Compensation of Victims of Unconstitutional Criminal Prosecution in the Accession Area (StrRehaG) and the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (AsylbLG). Employee training is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023, after which approximately 450 case workers will be working with the e-file.
Commitment certificate:
This is a form with security features that the city uses to guarantee customers an amount for payment by the savings bank.
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 provisions.