Statement of the Landesastenkonferenz on the abolition of cash payment at the locations of the Hamburger Studierendenwerk

5 March 2024

On Monday, 4. March 2024, the Studierendenwerk Hamburg will abolish cash at all canteens and cafes. This measure will be implemented without consultation with the representative assembly or students and is expected to be just the beginning of a series of austerity measures at the expense of students.

Card payment is unreliable compared to cash payment. There have already been a number of technical glitches that have made electronic payment impossible. Even more devastating, however, is that the student body is neglecting its social responsibility. Nearly 40% of students live on the poverty line. Part of the reality of living on the poverty line is that at the end of the month there is no money left in the account - or even the account balance is in decline. Then the cash in your wallet or the deposit back is the only thing left to eat. International students are also hit particularly hard, as payments abroad are often charged a fee of 1.5-2%. By abolishing cash payments, the Student Union is making it harder for the most vulnerable students to access warm and cheap food.

We see in this measure only the beginning of a cascade of pressures that will come to the students of Hamburg's universities. Not only is the Hamburg Studierendenwerk structurally severely underfunded, but it is also the worst-funded Studierenden werk in Germany. The price increases and inflation triggered by the crisis were offset by a deficit offset by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 2023/2024. But from 2025, Studierendenwerk will face a structural deficit of 5 million euros per year.

The City Council does not plan to make up the shortfall. Rather, the financial compensation will be borne entirely by students.

By cutting services, the Studierendenwerk is trying to keep the increase in costs for students to a minimum. The Studierennenwerk should be there to support students in precarious financial situations. It is incomprehensible that the Studiedenwerk is not standing up for the interests of students. It isn't sustainable that the Senate of the City of Hamburg is arbitrarily causing the ever-increasing financial burden for students through its inaction.

1 Statistisches Bundesamt, Pressemitteilung No. N066  November 16, 2022, https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2022/11/PD22_N066_63.html , updated 01/03/2024.