{"id":3099,"date":"2025-05-17T10:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T08:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nein-zur-bezahlkarte.de\/open-letter\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T14:44:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T12:44:53","slug":"open-letter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nein-zur-bezahlkarte.de\/en\/open-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"Open letter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br\/>Dear Mr. Kai Wegner,<br\/>Dear Ms. Iris Spranger,<br\/>Dear Ms. Cansel Kiziltepe,<br\/>Dear Mr. Dietmar Woidke,<br\/>Dear Ms. Katrin Lange,<br\/>Dear Members of the Berlin House of Representatives,<br\/>Dear Members of the Brandenburg State Parliament,<br\/>Dear Members of the District Council,<br\/>Dear <em>District <\/em> Councillors,  <\/p>\n\n<p>We, the No to the Berlin\/Brandenburg payment card initiative, are firmly opposed to the payment card. We call on the state government of Berlin and the districts and independent cities of Brandenburg to stop or abolish the implementation of this system. Despite numerous appeals from civil society organizations and human rights activists, the federal states have decided to introduce this discriminatory<br\/>system anyway. At a time of increasing anti-migrant rhetoric and<br\/>racist violence, we want to amplify the voices of the people who are most affected by<br\/>the consequences of this policy.   <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/><strong>The payment card as an instrument of control and exclusion<\/strong><br\/>As you probably know, the payment card was primarily introduced to control the<br\/>payments made by refugees as part of their asylum procedure. There is a<br\/>monthly limit of \u20ac50 cash that can be withdrawn from the card. The<br\/>card can only be used to pay in stores that accept debit cards, which excludes many smaller<br\/>(often cheaper) stores, caf\u00e9s, bakeries or markets. It is impossible to conclude contracts or make online payments with<br\/>the card or to pay legal or<br\/>medical bills without prior authorization from the respective authorities at<br\/>.    <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/><strong>Return to the degrading voucher system under a new name<\/strong><br\/>Refugee initiatives have fought for decades against the degrading instrument of the<br\/>voucher system. Until 2015, refugees received vouchers that could only be redeemed in<br\/>certain stores and regions in Germany. Thanks to<br\/>successful protests, the voucher system was largely discontinued. In apparent<br\/>disregard of the concerns expressed, the German government decided to introduce the<br\/>payment card, which has a different name but is based on the same racist<br\/>system and the same reasoning as the voucher system. We call on the<br\/>responsible authorities in Berlin and Brandenburg to<br\/>prevent the payment card in their municipalities. It is an instrument of segregation, control and repression &#8211; moreover,<br\/>it is associated with disproportionately high costs.     <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/><strong>Migration cannot be prevented by financial restrictions<\/strong><br\/>It is obvious that the payment card was introduced for highly dubious reasons<br\/>. It is argued that the card serves as a deterrent to further migration to<br\/>Germany. However, migration research and the Scientific Service of the German<br\/>Bundestag have long since proven that financial factors are not sufficient<br\/>to explain why people embark on dangerous and often life-threatening journeys<br\/>. The payment card will not stop people from seeking refuge in Germany<br\/>&#8211; it will only deprive them of even more rights, dignity and freedom of choice and<br\/>thus further fuel right-wing narratives.   <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/><strong>Violation of Agenda 2030 \/ UN Sustainable Development Goals<\/strong><br\/>The introduction of the payment card and the restriction on sending money to other countries to support the family<br\/>also contradicts the Agenda 2030 and the<br\/>Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, which clearly recognize the importance of money transfers to<br\/>the countries of origin for reducing inequality and poverty. The<br\/>Agenda 2030, to which Germany is also committed, therefore calls for the removal of barriers<br\/>and the reduction of fees for international remittances. There is also scientific<br\/>evidence that refugees and asylum seekers rarely transfer money and if they do, then only<br\/>very small amounts of 20 to 30 euros, as their financial resources are very limited<br\/>. The question therefore arises as to why, contrary to empirical evidence and the<br\/>recommendations of international organizations, the financial freedom of asylum seekers<br\/>is restricted to such an extent.   <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/><strong>High costs and additional bureaucracy for local authorities<\/strong><br\/>The payment card also means a considerable financial and administrative burden<br\/>for the districts. It will lead to additional work for the responsible offices<br\/>, whose staff are already overloaded. The exorbitantly high costs of the card are also particularly inappropriate in view of the massive budget cuts. Brandenburg, for example, has already spent 1.9 million euros on the introduction of the payment card, although this sum does not include the ongoing maintenance costs. The costs for Berlin are estimated at 5 million euros per year. This is very wasteful, as there has long been a simple, inexpensive and practical alternative: transferring benefits to a basic account. This solution would significantly reduce costs compared to cash payments and at the same time guarantee the financial self-determination of those affected &#8211; without making the federal states and local authorities dependent on international financial service providers such as Visa and Mastercard.        <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Violation of fundamental rights and data protection <\/strong><br\/>The payment card is highly questionable in legal terms and violates fundamental human rights and the dignity of refugees. It is based on the segregating and unconstitutional Asylum Seekers&#8217; Benefits Act (AsylbLG), which effectively excludes asylum seekers<br\/>from the regular social systems. While the benefits granted under the<br\/>AsylbLG are already well below the minimum subsistence level, the<br\/>payment card further violates Article 1 of the Basic Law by prohibiting recipients<br\/>from spending this little money freely. The Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) ruled<br\/>in 2012 that human dignity may not be relativized for political purposes<br\/>. The misuse of social benefits to deter<br\/>migration is therefore inadmissible.    <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/>The payment card will increase discrimination under the AsylbLG and thus violate the<br\/>State Anti-Discrimination Act (LADG) &#8211; as confirmed by the Berlin Senate Ombudsman&#8217;s Office<br\/>for the LADG with regard to the restrictive cash limit. Not only is<br\/>the restrictive cash limit an unjustified obstacle, the payment card also further restricts the<br\/>daily lives of recipients by prohibiting them from paying freely in stores<br\/>or making bank transfers. The payment card is an instrument of control<br\/>and repression and interferes with the recipients&#8217; right to self-determination. This is<br\/>part of a deepening crisis of the EU border regime and its hostile asylum policy<br\/>as well as a continuation of state violence and exclusion.   <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/>Finally, data protection officers, such as the State Commissioner for Data Protection<br\/>Brandenburg Dagmar Hartge, have expressed serious concerns about the payment card,<br\/>particularly with regard to the so-called &#8220;whitelist&#8221; procedure, which involves the collection of<br\/>sensitive information that is particularly protected. The Conference of<br\/>Federal and State Data Protection Supervisory Authorities has declared that the transfer<br\/>of the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR), which enables access to highly sensitive data, to<br\/>non-governmental organizations is not permitted. <\/p>\n\n<p><br\/>Abolish <strong>the payment card now!<\/strong><br\/>Numerous cities and municipalities have already decided against the introduction of the<br\/>payment card, including Potsdam and municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia such as D\u00fcsseldorf,<br\/>Aachen, Dortmund, Krefeld, M\u00fcnster and Wiesbaden. These municipalities prove that it is<br\/>possible to create a humane alternative and to oppose the racist<br\/>deterrence policy of the federal government.<br\/>For these reasons, we call on you to<br\/>prevent or abolish the payment card in your area of responsibility! <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>First signatories:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Aktion Freiheit statt Angst e.V.<br\/>Amaro Drom e.V.<br\/>Amaro Foro e.V.<br\/>Anti-discrimination network Berlin of the TBB<br\/>Asyl in der Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.<br\/>BARE Alliance<br\/>Be an Angel e.V.<br\/>Berlin Network for Refugees in Need of Special Protection (BNS)<br\/>Bloque Latinoamericano Berlin<br\/>borderline-europe &#8211; Menschenrechte ohne Grenzen e.V.<br\/>Br\u00fcckenwind e.V.<br\/>Casa Ku\u00e0<br\/>Refugee Counseling Center of the Evangelical Church District of Upper Havelland<br\/>Fl\u00fcchtlingsrat Berlin e.V.<br\/>Refugee Council Brandenburg e.V.<br\/>Initiative Barnim Solidarisch<br\/>Interb\u00fcro<br\/>International Women* Space e.V.<br\/>JOLIBA &#8211; Intercultural Network in Berlin e.V.<br\/>Justice Collective e.V.<br\/>Contact and advice center for refugees and migrants e.V.<br\/>Migration Council Berlin e.V.<br\/>Moabit helps e.V.<br\/>MV Louise Michel<br\/>Open MOL<br\/>Solid*base (formerly &#8216;Zusammenleben Willkommen&#8217;)<br\/>Space2groW<br\/>Stop Deportation Center BER<br\/>Association for Intercultural Work Berlin Brandenburg e.V.<br\/>Berlin VVN-BdA e.V.<br\/>Women in Exile e.V.<br\/>Wir packen&#8217;s an e.V. &#8211; Nothilfe f\u00fcr Gefl\u00fcchtete<br\/>Zentrum \u00dcBERLEBEN gGmBH<br\/>AK QUEER WOHNEN<br\/>BIG e.V.<br\/>Caf\u00e9 Cralle GbR<br\/>Frauenhaus Cocon e.V.<br\/>Frauenkreise Berlin e.V.<br\/>FRAUENRAUM &#8211; Specialist counseling and intervention center for domestic violence e.V.<br\/>Frauenzimmer e.V.<br\/>GLADT e.V.<br\/>Hestia Frauenhaus e.V.<br\/>Hydra e.V.<br\/>LARA e.V.<br\/>Reproductive Justice Network<br\/>:\/\/about blank, Technoclub<br\/>Act for Transformation geG<br\/>BAIZ Kultur- und Schankwirtschaft<br\/>Dr.Pogo Veganladen-Kollektiv<br\/>FKK 3000 Fahrrad Kollektiv e.V.<br\/>GANGWAY &#8211; Street social work in Berlin e.V.<br\/>Hands off Wedding<br\/>You are not safe!<br\/>Youth Housing Project &#8220;MittenDrin&#8221; e.V.<br\/>Linienstra\u00dfe 206<br\/>Neue Republik Reger GmbH<br\/>Omas gegen Rechts Teltow Kleinmachnow Stahnsdorf<br\/>robinhood store<br\/>Regenbogenfabrik e.V.<br\/>Wrangelkiez United!<br\/>SO36 e.V.<br\/>Seebr\u00fccke Berlin<br\/>Seebr\u00fccke Brandenburg<br\/>Stadtteil- und Infoladen LUNTE<br\/>Stadtteilladen Zielona G\u00f3ra e.V.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Mr. Kai Wegner,Dear Ms. Iris Spranger,Dear Ms. Cansel Kiziltepe,Dear Mr. Dietmar Woidke,Dear Ms. Katrin Lange,Dear Members of the Berlin House of Representatives,Dear Members of the Brandenburg State Parliament,Dear Members of the District Council,Dear District Councillors, We, the No to the Berlin\/Brandenburg payment card initiative, are firmly opposed to the payment card. We call on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3099","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Open letter - Wir sagen Nein zur Bezahlkarte<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nein-zur-bezahlkarte.de\/en\/open-letter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Open letter - Wir sagen Nein zur Bezahlkarte\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Mr. Kai Wegner,Dear Ms. Iris Spranger,Dear Ms. Cansel Kiziltepe,Dear Mr. Dietmar Woidke,Dear Ms. Katrin Lange,Dear Members of the Berlin House of Representatives,Dear Members of the Brandenburg State Parliament,Dear Members of the District Council,Dear District Councillors, We, the No to the Berlin\/Brandenburg payment card initiative, are firmly opposed to the payment card. 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