Innovative bank card aids France's homeless

A student from Lille has devised a bank card specifically for homeless people, with limits on how it can be used, in the hope it will encourage more members of the public to give them money.

With fewer people carrying cash on them, the card allows those wishing to donate to simply tap their phones on it to transfer funds. The money can then only be used for essential items such as food or hygiene products. 

This works in the same way as ticket-resto cards – restaurant and supermarket vouchers used by employees to buy food – which limit what you are allowed to buy and where you are allowed to buy it from. 

The idea is non-profit and was launched by Tim Deguette, 21, and the Soldats du Sourire, a charitable association in Lille that helps homeless people. 

Dubbed ‘Solly’, the bank cards are part of a wider effort to tackle homelessness in France.

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Innovative idea

Lucie Fontaine, who is in charge of public relations for Solly, explained that round 9% of the money donated will be given to housing programmes and projects, helping homeless people to get off the streets, and around 1% will be used to make new cards. 

“I think the idea is genius, it is brilliant,” she told The Connexion.

“Talking to people living in the street and finding out what has led them to being homeless, you realise you have no choice but to help them.

“‘Why not us? Why should it not be us who helps them?’ Is the question I asked myself,” she added. 

The bank cards will be trialled over three months towards the end of 2024 in Lille, with the eventual idea being a nationwide launch. 

Solly has just finished its crowdfunding phase, receiving €20,345 from 355 donors. As it has reached over €15,000, its second level, the project will be implemented as it has proof of concept. 

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Growing problem

Some 330,000 people are homeless in France, an increase of 30,000 people in a year, according to the Fondation Abbé Pierre that works to provide adequate housing to disadvantaged communities across France. The association has stated that measures currently in place to solve the problem are massively insufficient. 

In total, 4.15 million people are inadequately housed and the number of people living in the streets grows by 10% year-on-year.

It was to better understand the issue that Mr Deguette and the Solly team carried out a survey last year. In particular, they looked at reasons why members of the public may be discouraged from giving money to people living on the streets.

Two main reasons emerged: two out of three respondents said they no longer carry change with them, and 70% were worried about what the money they might give to a homeless person would be spent on. 

The bank card was developed in an effort to tackle both reasons, and will be given to those that need it free of charge.

One-tap donation

They will be distributed during maraudes (outreach walks) organised by the Soldats du Sourire. These see volunteers in Lille walk through the city to provide assistance to vulnerable people they encounter along their route.

To give money, donors simply place their mobile phone on the Solly card and a donation page will open up on their screen. They can choose to donate any amount of money via a bank transfer, so it works much like an electronic payment terminal. The cards will require a PIN code to use, in an effort to reduce theft risk.

An important part of the Solly concept was to maintain the social contact between homeless people and those giving money. 

“We could have made a platform for remote donations but we wanted to keep the link, the ‘hello’ and the smile exchanged between two people,” said Ms Fontaine. 

This is also why the money can be used to buy dog or other animal food, as these pets are often the only social ties for people living on the street, she added.