Germany will provide at least some welfare benefits for asylum seekers on pre-loaded cards instead of cash in the future, after German state leaders largely agreed on a new common standard to be introduced this summer. The switch is partly intended to prevent migrants from transferring welfare benefits back to relatives or friends in their home country, an issue that has been raised by some German politicians. It should also streamline the distribution of benefits and ease the administrative burden on local government authorities. Fourteen of Germany’s 16 federal states agreed on the new card …