Electronic Luncheon Vouchers: Deployment in Belgium
- Electronic luncheon vouchers, announced several months ago, are authorized in Belgium since the 1st of January 2011. Their development is now possible after several years of discussions and consultations.
- More than 250 million paper luncheon vouchers are used every year by 1.3 million Belgian workers and represent their favourite “extralegal” benefit.
- In order to reduce the administrative burden of luncheon vouchers for employers and merchants, a simplification process was initiated by the Government, which made their use possible when signing the last decrees at the end of November.
- They work the same way paper vouchers do (which, for now, will continue to exist) and the first contactless cards should be distributed by April 2011. The cards will be free for the employee and should not cost employers or merchants more than they currently pay for paper vouchers.
- Belgium has been engaged for many years in a process intended to lead to the dematerialisation of securities and documents. Belgian ID cards have been converted to plastic cards with integrated chips, so that they can be embedded used with several applications. Belgian citizens can, with their new electronic ID card, consult their tax records, file their tax statement or sign digital documents. Luncheon vouchers evolved in this general context, very favourable to dematerialisation processes.
- For now, four operators can propose electronic vouchers in Belgium: Sodexho, Edenred (former Accor Services), E-ve (Electronic Voucher Emitter) and Monizze. Eventually, the market may become highly competitive with the emergence of large retail distribution players or new entrants (for example, the Spanish Bueno Menu).
- In France, luncheon vouchers are considered by some as real revenue, they are distributed by 120,000 companies to 3.3 million employees. Nevertheless, in order to dematerialise these vouchers in France, the 1967 ordinance setting luncheon vouchers regulation must first be modified.