Press release December 9th, 2024

The state budget plan for 2025/2026 is being negotiated in the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg. After According to the section 05 of the Ministry of Justice and Migration, expenditure will be made for 2025/2026 of around 21.4 million euros for the introduction of the exclusionary payment card. The funds should cover project and consulting costs, support costs and possible implementations and Further developments of the payment card are issued. According to a statement from the city of Freiburg From December 4th, 2024, the state will cover the “costs of the procurement process as well as the one-off costs Flat rate provision for the payment card system”. This means that there are also costs for the municipality arise. Peter Kramer (Freiburg Regional Council) recently spoke in the Freiburg Committee Migration, from a “significant administrative burden”. According to the former head of department Michael Findeisen in the Federal Ministry of Finance finds it impossible to estimate the costs seriously because the contracts and fee agreements are ’trade secrets’. Every bill should contain a cost estimate. Alternatives would also have to be examined become. Neither happened.

A prepaid card is originally intended for people who, for various reasons, do not have one have account. It has so far been a decidedly niche product and is now being used for the first time on a large scale by the state against a section of the population, namely refugees, enforced (tested). The payment card undermines an existing checking account State funds are only recorded on the payment card. The credit cannot be used up be forwarded to your own account. This is a serious issue in many respects represents an interference with the autonomy of those affected. The card therefore violates the EU Payment Accounts Directive 2014/92 and the Payment Accounts Act.

Prof. Dr. Roland Hefendehl (UNI Freiburg) interprets the payment card in an article criminologically as a measure of so-called situational crime prevention. “Opportunities to commit crimes” should be reduced. The introduction of the payment card is justified by transfers to the country of origin and to prevent the payment of smugglers. The consequences at the However, the introduction of payment cards in order to achieve the claimed goal has a comprehensive impact the entire lifestyle of those affected. In fact, it is available to benefit recipients still free to decide for themselves what, where and how they want to spend their money. That applies also for refugees whose basic subsistence benefits are far below that citizen’s money. This corresponds to the case law of the highest courts.

Although the claims justifying the payment card are unfounded and repeated have been refuted, the false news is repeated again and again. Beginning of December stated the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in a study: “The idea that that refugees who are dependent on basic security send large amounts of money abroad send, has no empirical basis,” said Sabine Zinn, acting director of the SOEP (Socio-Economic Panel).

As an initiative, we advocate: Stop the introduction of exclusionary ones Payment card. We speak out against any restrictions, paternalism and exclusionary measures associated with the introduction of the payment card. We speak out against the further establishment of an authoritarian social system against refugees which obviously violates numerous legal standards.

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