Payment card: Bavaria reports 30 percent more departures of asylum seekers

Munich. Since the nationwide introduction of the payment card for asylum seekers in Bavaria, the number of voluntary departures has increased dramatically. The number increased by almost 30 percent between July 2024 and December 2024 compared to the same period last year, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior told the German Press Agency in Munich in response to an inquiry.

In absolute numbers, this means an increase from 5,984 (July to December 2023) to 7,778 departures (July to December 2024).

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The introduction of the payment card began in March 2024 and was fully completed by the end of June 2024. More than 70,000 of the cards, which look like an EC or debit card, were in use by the end of March 2025. Beyond the reference to the number of departures, there are no statistical data on the extent to which the introduction of the card has actually increased the willingness to leave the country.

When the program was introduced, the CSU and the state government explained that some asylum seekers transfer the money they received in Germany abroad, either to support their families at home or even to pay illegal human traffickers. They argued that benefits in kind were therefore better than cash benefits. The introduction was based on the assumption that this would remove an incentive for refugees to come to Germany in the first place—such incentives are also known as pull factors.

The Union's goal is to implement the payment card system throughout Germany. However, this is still taking some time in some federal states.

Associations like the Bavarian Refugee Council consider the payment card a form of patronizing behavior. The Refugee Council calls it a "discrimination card." The arguments for its introduction—preventing alleged abuse of social benefits and combating human trafficking—are scientifically untenable, they argue. It has made hate speech against refugees more socially acceptable.

Apart from that, the card makes it difficult to participate in everyday life. 50 euros in cash per month is too little. And shopping at flea markets, secondhand shops, or through classified ads is only possible to a limited extent.

RND/dpa