The government wants to “dust off” meal vouchers

Monday, December 18, the law which proposes to extend the use of restaurant vouchers for food shopping, passes before the Senate. If restaurateurs are unhappy, it’s good news for users. It is also an opportunity to start thinking about modernizing the system.

Even if inflation slows, the government believes that it is necessary to continue to support the purchasing power of the French. This is why he wants restaurant vouchers to still be able, in 2024, to be used for food shopping – within the limit of 25 euros per day, whereas normally this provision was to disappear at the end of 2023.

However, restaurateurs have challenged the government on the 200 million loss of income that this diversion represents for them each year. These millions therefore go into supermarket checkouts rather than their own. But their protests were in vain.

Benefits of dematerialization

Please note first of all, if you are one of the five million workers who benefit from meal vouchers, remember that you have until the end of January to use your paper tickets dated 2023. After this date, they will be lost. If they are dematerialized (in digital version on a card), you have until the end of February, but beyond that, you can transfer them to your account for next year.

The disappearance of the paper version is planned for March 2026. All that will then remain are digital meal vouchers which, according to the government, should be easier to use. This should also make it possible to reduce costs, in particular the commissions that businesses and restaurateurs must pay to issuers of securities, that is to say to groups like Sodexo, or Edenred, etc.

This dematerialization is also rather a good thing for associations like the Red Cross, because there are more donations made with the dematerialized versions than with the paper versions. These donations are in fact easier to make, with a one-click transfer, and last year, more than 1.3 million euros were paid to associations via meal vouchers.

Develop the system

A more global reflection is launched around the entire system, with representatives of employers, employees, but also the State, with a view to making it evolve. Among the ideas, there is the idea of ​​varying the daily spending limit, depending on whether restaurant vouchers are used in food businesses, such as bakeries, caterers, or in supermarkets.

There is also talk of establishing several meal voucher cards, so that employees’ children can use them. Olivia Grégoire, the minister in charge of the file, promises to “dust off” the system.