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https://bezahlkarte-stoppen.org

Stop the payment card!

In Heidelberg and the Rhine-Neckar district, the discriminatory "payment card" will be introduced in the foreseeable future for all refugees who receive benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. Behind the decision to introduce the payment card is a racist policy that seeks to further restrict the lives of refugees and seal Europe off from the Global South. We are fighting back against the restrictive payment card and want to make solidarity a reality!

Why do we reject the payment card?

The payment card represents an encroachment on the autonomy of refugees and restricts their participation in everyday life. In the Rhine-Neckar district, there will be a cash limit of €50. It is to be expected that there will also be a similar restriction in Heidelberg. Bank transfers, online purchases and contracts are not possible or only possible with a great deal of effort. Many areas of life require cash: e.g. smaller stores, weekly markets, flea markets or cultural events. All of this is restricted by the payment card.

Even if the payment card looks similar to a debit card, its application options are much more limited as the card only works in specific stores. And if those affected want to put money aside to financially support their family abroad despite the limited benefits, this is made much more difficult. The card is problematic in terms of data protection. The payment card offers the authorities insights and opportunities for control.

What are we going to do?

We in Heidelberg do not want to accept this discriminatory and exclusionary card and want to show solidarity with those affected.

In order to counteract the restrictions of the payment card, we are joining forces locally. Following the example of many other initiatives nationwide, we also want to organize a voucher exchange in Heidelberg and the surrounding area.

The principle:

  1. People with a payment card buy a shopping voucher at the supermarket
  2. When exchanging vouchers, you will receive the value of the voucher in cash
  3. Solidarity people without a payment card receive the vouchers in exchange for cash

The exchange campaigns are not unlawful but a response to an allegedly unconstitutional policy, as the basic rights of those affected are being violated and the cash ceiling of €50 jeopardizes the humane minimum subsistence level. (Read more at: Stage victory in summary proceedings against restrictive payment card: PRO ASYL and GFF support complaining family | PRO ASYL)

How can you provide support?

Feel free to contact us and/or come along to our meetings if you...

We are also dependent on donations. We need a financial buffer for the swap events. We also need some money, for example for materials such as flyers or posters, smaller purchases such as lockable tills or barcode scanners or room rental for information events. Donation receipts can be issued.

For a world of solidarity!

What do supra-regional structures look like?

There are already initiatives against the payment card and exchange initiatives like ours in many cities. We are part of the nationwide network "Equal social rights for all!"(website, Instagram)

Further information

Open letter

Dear Mayor Jansen, dear members of the Committee for Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities,

We are shocked and bewildered by the gradual introduction of the payment card for people receiving asylum seekers' benefits in Baden-Württemberg. Due to the many discriminatory, restrictive and exclusionary aspects of the payment card, we oppose its introduction in Heidelberg.

  1. People seeking protection in Heidelberg have an account just like anyone else. They can use their current account card to access their money. If they are not yet in employment, they initially receive benefits in accordance with the AsylbLG. In future, these are to be transferred to payment cards, with which both cash spending and transfers/debits are restricted. Objective: No transfers to own family and to traffickers, deterrence, reduction of "pull factors". This background for the payment card violates our fundamental rights: the prohibition of discrimination, the protection of the family, personal rights.
  2. The payment card is an encroachment on personal rights. People who have fled their home country are thus being restricted. They may not be able to shop in their preferred stores because it is too expensive for small stores to set up a reader for debit cards. Transfers and direct debits require approval from the social welfare office. If there are special needs, an application must be made. 50 € cash is an amount that is subject to the discretion of the office. The allocation of the payment card itself is subject to discretion. This will not only place an additional burden on the administration, but will also make those affected monstrously dependent on the office, also because transparency is lost for them.
  3. The goal of introducing the payment card will not be achieved anyway. The DIW's weekly report 49/2024 shows that only a very small number of foreign remittances come from refugees, and certainly the least from those who receive benefits under the AsylbLG, because these benefits (maximum €441) are even lower than the citizen's allowance and certainly do not meet the requirements set by the 2012 ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, according to which the minimum subsistence level should not be relativized in terms of migration policy. It also goes without saying that the reasons for fleeing weigh more heavily than the question of benefits.
  4. The introduction of a restrictive payment card is part of a major attack on the rights of people seeking protection. The dismantling of the social rights of refugees goes hand in hand with the expansion of Fortress Europe and efforts to gradually rid themselves of their responsibility to protect refugees (Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, Article 14) and their obligations, not least in the form of the Geneva Refugee Convention. The far right has succeeded in developing a dominant discourse that views people seeking protection as nothing more than a threat. Unfortunately, this racist narrative has also been increasingly adopted by democratic parties for years. In doing so, they are driving processes of desolidarization and shifting the social discourse to the right. The payment card is nothing but populist symbolic politics that serves racism and further marginalizes, discriminates against and controls those seeking protection. Integration looks different!
  5. There is no alternative to the introduction of the payment card. NRW has introduced an opt-out rule that allows local authorities not to introduce the payment card. Several large cities have already made use of this. But there is also resistance in Lower Saxony: although there is no opt-out regulation there, the city of Hanover has declared that it will not introduce the payment card and is thus confidently offering open resistance. A majority of the city council, including the CDU, SPD and Green parties, has declared that it will not introduce the card because it is discriminatory.

We call on the parliamentary groups of the Heidelberg municipal council and the administration to reject the discriminatory and pointless payment card in Heidelberg as well.

First signatory

Contact & Donations

We are an open structure and meet regularly to coordinate further steps. Are you interested in taking action against the payment card? Then come to one of our next meetings or get in touch with us.

Contact us

Donate

Röm.-Kath.
Kirchengemeinde Heidelberg
DE77 6725 0020 0001 2061 76
Zweck: Gutschein 2813
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