Pilot program will provide migrant families across New York City with pre-paid debit cards for groceries
NEW YORK -- New York City officials confirm a pilot program is being launched to provide some asylum seekers with pre-paid debit cards.
The cards will be provided to an initial 500 families with children for use exclusively at bodegas, supermarkets and grocery and convenience stores.
The city is partnering with Mobility Capital Finance for the program.
In a statement, the company's CEO and founder Wole Coaxum said, "MoCaFi's goal is to expand access to financial resources for individuals excluded from banking, such as asylum seekers, while helping the local economy. It is an honor to be a part of the effort to welcome and support asylum seekers as they begin to plant their roots in this country."
Officials say it will save the city $7.2 million a year.
City Hall calls the program a "more cost-effective technology pilot program to distribute pre-paid immediate response cards to asylum seekers to purchase food and baby supplies in lieu of the city's current system of providing non-perishable food boxes to migrant families staying in hotels."