Nationwide solution

Payment card system for refugees from 2025

(Bild: Jonathan Stutz - stock.adobe.com)

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) presented a concept for a payment card for refugees at the conference of state refugee officers on Tuesday. Nationwide procurement is planned and implementation is planned from 2025. The federal states will decide on the introduction.

According to the resolution passed on Tuesday, the Minister of the Interior is requested to ensure that a proposal for the legal and technical development of an Austria-wide payment card system for basic services is made available to the federal states, taking into account the experience gained from existing systems and pilot projects. A working group is planned to prepare a call for tenders. The introduction and implementation of a card system is the responsibility of the federal states.

Card to prevent misuse
The concept of the Ministry of the Interior envisages that every asylum seeker aged 14 and over should receive a personal card. All basic services are to be bundled on this card. One of the aims is to prevent abuse of the system, such as money being transferred abroad. Asylum seekers are to use the card for the entire duration of their receipt of basic welfare support - i.e. from the federal and state governments. Countries are to be given the opportunity to switch from cash to benefits in kind in future. The design is to be "flexible" and can be adapted to the federal states. Planning and awarding should be carried out by the federal procurement company, with the federal government assuming the costs for the tender.

Liberals plead for strictness
Christian Pewny, the FPÖ state councillor responsible for basic services in Salzburg, welcomed the introduction of a standardized version of a payment card throughout Austria. As far as cash withdrawals are concerned, "the lower the better", he emphasized. He would prefer not to allow any withdrawals - however, it would have to be checked to what extent this is legally possible, said the Freedom Party member. In any case, it was important that the card could not be used to transfer money abroad and that payments were restricted regionally - for example to the respective federal state. Lower Austria's FPÖ state party leader and deputy governor Udo Landbauer has also spoken out in favor of abolishing cash benefits for asylum seekers: "Our clear goal is and remains the zero quota. This applies to cash benefits as well as asylum applications."

Concerns from Vienna
In the run-up to the conference, Vienna's Social Welfare Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ) had expressed skepticism regarding a benefits-in-kind card. He sees legal and technical problems as well as additional costs. Before "senselessly spending money on a super bureaucracy", it is necessary to explain: "How does it work technically, how does it work legally? How does it work within the framework of the laws that we all have to abide by?" he said in an interview.

Pilot project in Upper Austria
A joint pilot project was presented by the federal government and Upper Austria on Monday. The model is the Social Card already in use in 23 German districts and municipalities. Foreign transfers are not possible with the card, 40 euros per month can be withdrawn in cash. Gambling, crypto or pornography cannot be paid for. The card will initially be issued to 300 people in eight districts from July. According to Upper Austrian Provincial Councillor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP), the aim is to lay the foundations for an Austria-wide system.

"I am pleased that we were able to reach an agreement among the state representatives to work together on an Austria-wide solution based on our experience. I am convinced that the benefits-in-kind card is the right thing to do, as it prevents abuse and simplifies processes," said Hattmannsdorfer. A special payment card for asylum seekers has been tested in Lower Austria since the beginning of June, and a similar system already exists in Tyrol.