Zurich Zurich cantonal council rejects payment card for asylum seekers

On Monday, the Zurich Cantonal Council discussed two motions on payment cards for asylum seekers. It provisionally supported a parliamentary initiative, but rejected a motion.

The motion by the SVP and FDP was rejected by 94 votes to 77. However, the debate is not completely over: a parliamentary initiative by the SVP and FDP on the same topic was provisionally supported by 72 votes. 60 votes were required. The bill will now go to the responsible committee for preparation, after which Parliament will decide again.

The idea is not new: in mid-April, the Bundestag, the German parliament, decided to introduce a payment card for asylum seekers. In future, they are to receive part of their state benefits as credit on a card and no longer as cash.

No payments can be made with this card. Among other things, this should prevent migrants from transferring money to smugglers or to family and friends abroad.

Government council was against it

In Switzerland, the Federal Council does not consider payment cards for asylum seekers to be an effective idea, as it explained in May in response to an SVP proposal. It was "questionable whether the introduction of payment cards instead of cash could actually combat or even prevent abuse".

The Zurich government council also rejected the proposals. The decisive factor is the amount of support, not the type. Security Director Mario Fehr (non-party) called Germany a "failed state" in the area of asylum. The "foaming at the mouth" payment card proposal should be seen as an answer to the German problems, but not as a model for Zurich. Rather, rapid asylum procedures are the solution.

Christina Zurfluh Fraefel (SVP, Wädenswil), who launched both initiatives, said that even small amounts of money are a lot of money in certain countries of origin. Co-signatory Linda Camenisch (FDP, Wallisellen) said that the first districts in Germany had had good experiences. For "genuine refugees", the restriction was small, but for others it was a deterrent. Stefan Schmid (SVP, Niederglatt) said it was about the system of people smugglers, not the asylum seekers.

Payment card as a "bureaucratic monster"

In the cantonal council, the left and center parties opposed the proposals. Alan David Sangines (SP, Zurich) felt that the SVP and FDP had abandoned a constructive asylum policy. The payment card was a "bureaucratic monster" and placed asylum seekers under general suspicion. Lisa Letnansky (AL, Zurich) found it "cheeky" to dictate to people what they should spend their money on. "We need to protect these people, not harass them," she said.

Andrea Gisler (GLP, Gossau) said that Germany was not a good role model. In Switzerland, the resources are much more limited and asylum seekers have no money to send to their countries of origin. Josef Widler (center, Zurich) called the proposals a "pipe-dream". Those who made it to Switzerland by trickery would also find a way to get cash through bartering.