Styria: Payment Card in Basic Services is Coming
Styria is starting the introduction phase for the benefit card for basic care. Within four months at the latest, the benefit card is to be "rolled out gradually across the state," the state government announced in a press release on Friday. Displaced persons are also to be included in this system, "which represents equal treatment for all persons in basic care," it was stated.
Asylum seekers in target group for Styrian benefit card
Styria will technically join the nationwide framework agreement with the company PayCenter GmbH. Thus, asylum seekers who are transferred by the federal government to Styria will in the future already be equipped with a benefit card when they enter Styrian basic care. "This ensures uniform structures, bureaucratic efficiency, and a simple, digitized process as well as a relief for the Styrian state authorities."
The issuance of the card will begin with asylum seekers, followed by persons with displaced status. About 7,500 people are affected by the introduction, around 6,000 of whom are displaced persons. The specific target groups are asylum seekers, persons entitled to subsidiary protection, displaced persons, persons who cannot be deported for legal or factual reasons, as well as persons entitled to asylum in the first four months after being granted asylum. The fact that displaced persons are receiving a benefit card for the first time is a nationwide novelty in Austria.
Costs estimated at around 450,000 euros
The issuance of the Styrian benefit card is for those aged 14 and over. For younger persons, the benefits are covered by the parents' card. Cash withdrawals are limited to a maximum of 40 euros per month - regardless of whether the affected individuals are provided with lower balances in organized quarters or higher balances in private accommodations. These 40 euros per month represent the so-called "pocket money," which must be paid out due to various federal and European legal regulations. The total cost of the benefit card system is estimated at around 450,000 euros for a four-year period.
(APA/Red)
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