Refugees in Styria cannot purchase with the new in-kind support card.
The new Sachleistungskarte (benefit card) for refugees in Styria has caused a stir after it became clear that it is not accepted in social markets like Vinzimarkt, which are relied upon by low-income individuals and refugees to purchase food at low prices. This has led to a wave of criticism from beneficiaries and workers in charitable organizations.
According to the Kronen Zeitung newspaper, the pilot phase has begun with the distribution of 50 cards to refugees in three reception centers located in Passail, Graz, and Bruck an der Mur. The program is overseen by the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which leads the local government in Styria, and aims to replace cash assistance with a limited-use electronic payment system to ensure it is spent only on basic needs such as food and clothing.
However, since the beginning of the experiment, several technical and organizational problems have emerged, the most prominent of which is that the card does not work in the social markets that many refugees rely on to obtain their daily needs at reasonable prices. This malfunction has led to widespread dissatisfaction among users and workers in charitable organizations who believe that excluding these stores 'contradicts the social goal of the project.'
Charity organization employees have strongly criticized the program, asserting that the inclusion of social markets in the system should have been a priority from the beginning. Meanwhile, others believe that the problem is temporary, and that the network of participating stores in the system will expand over time after necessary adjustments are made to the system.
For its part, the local government in the state defended the program, pointing out that it was deliberately designed as a pilot phase to discover these gaps before it is generalized across Austria. It confirmed that the main goal is to prevent the misuse of financial aid and ensure that it is directed only to cover essential needs. The Austrian Ministry of the Interior is scheduled to issue an initial assessment of the experiment by the end of the year before making a decision on expanding the use of the card to other states.