Swiss parliament backs payment cards for asylum-seekers
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Swiss parliament backs payment cards for asylum-seekers
The Swiss parliament has expressed support for a payment card for asylum-seekers. The House of Representatives is examining how such a means of payment could be introduced nationwide. The Senate has already passed a similar postulate.
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On Thursday the House of Representatives passed a postulate from the Political Institutions Committee by 128 votes to 59. Payment cards are intended to make Switzerland less attractive for asylum-seekers because they no longer receive cash that they could transfer to their home country.
The cantons pay benefits to asylum-seekers. The government should therefore clarify how the cantons could be supported in introducing the card. It should also explain what impact these cards would have on crime.
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Andreas Glarner from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party said on behalf of the Political Institutions Committee that the aim of the card is to ensure that social welfare funds are used in a targeted manner and can no longer be transferred abroad. A similar postulate was already referred by the Senate last June. The government expressed its opposition.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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