Asylum seekers must wait 2 weeks for the money remaining on their Moni cards after 30 April

Image by MONI (getMONI).

Moni prepaid cards used for the payment of reception allowances and wages will stop working on 30 April, but the transfer of the remaining amounts to the new PFS cards will take "at least two weeks", said Migri

When the Moni prepaid cards are no longer operational on April 30, asylum seekers must wait at least two weeks for their money to be transferred to the new PFS cards.

This is what Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) explained today in its customer bulletin, which reminds asylum seekers that all Moni cards will be replaced with new PFS cards by the end of April 2019.

The Moni cards have been used in the last years for the payment of the reception allowance and wages to asylum seekers, since most of them can´t hold bank accounts. But he Moni cards and the connected online banking service will stop working on 30 April 2019.

The Finnish Immigration Service explains in its latest customer bulletin that eventually all the remaining money on the Moni cards will be transferred to PFS cards when the service of the old cards is disconnected. However, Migri apologizes because this transfer will not be done right away and "will take at least two weeks":

"Unfortunately, the transfer cannot be done in April. Transferring money from Moni cards to PFS cards is not possible until May. Regrettably, the Finnish Immigration Service and the card supplier have not been able to find a better solution to the situation", says the release.

Migri has promised to publish a new bulletin "as soon as all our clients have had their money transferred to a PFS card". "We apologize for the situation", concludes.

If you have money on your card:

The Finnish Immigration Service says that after April 30 those who still have money in their Moni cards "will not be able to withdraw" it. Therefore, recommends its customers to "now withdraw enough cash from your Moni card to cover your expenses for May". If any amounts remain after that, will be transferred to the new PFS cards in May.

To those who have money in their Moni cards but are unable to withdraw cash with their cards, Migri recommends to contact their reception centers.

Those asylum seekers who are working should ask their employers to pay the salary directly to the new PFS cards. After 30 April will not be possible to pay wages to Moni cards.

More detailed information on how to replace Moni cards with PFS cards can be found at Migri's website HERE