Since August 2026, the payment card for refugees has also been issued in Berlin. It has now been introduced in all German federal states. Politically, the card is often presented as a modern and digital way of providing social benefits that makes administration simpler and more efficient.

But the payment card is about more than digital administration. It determines how people can access and use their money: how much cash they can withdraw, whether they can make bank transfers, and where and for what they can use the card. The panel discussion asks what these restrictions mean for refugees in their everyday lives and how the payment card should be understood in the context of current migration policy.

The event is organised in cooperation with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. It will be held in German and English, with simultaneous interpretation into both languages.