A Finnish fintech partnership gets bank accounts for asylum seekers

The Finnish Immigration Services has partnered with MONI, a fintech company, to give asylum seekers an official identity so they can get bank accounts and start working while they await the court’s judgement on their refugee status. MONI provides prepaid Mastercards and mobile payment accounts that are tied to individuals identified by the Finnish Immigration Services. Government benefits for refugees can then be paid using these cards, rather than in cash, and when the asylum seekers get jobs they can receive their salaries and pay taxes like any citizen.