By Marcela Ayres
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s Finance Ministry said on Wednesday the government measures to cut intermediation costs in the country’s meal voucher market are expected to generate savings of about 8 billion reais ($1.48 billion) a year.
Unveiled on Tuesday, the changes cap the fee charged by meal voucher companies to merchants at 3.6% and shorten settlement periods to a maximum of 15 days, down from 30 days previously.
“These measures reduce intermediation costs and create conditions for restaurants and supermarkets to offer lower prices without hurting their profit margins,” the ministry said.
The changes triggered sharp losses on Wednesday in shares of French voucher provider Edenred, owner of Ticket, and Pluxee, which controls the former Sodexo business.
Together with VR and Alelo – controlled by EloPar, a joint venture between Brazilian lenders Bradesco and Banco do Brasil – they account for about 85% of Brazil’s meal voucher market.
The new government rules also require payment networks with more than 500,000 workers to open their systems to competition.
In practice, this means that while card brands will continue to set the rules for their networks, card issuance and merchant accreditation must be accessible to any institution that meets general requirements.
A government source involved in years of discussions over opening the market said, on condition of anonymity, that lower intermediation costs would not immediately translate into cheaper services for users, as it will be up to restaurants and supermarkets to decide whether to pass on the savings to consumers.
The source added that the expectation is for businesses to gain more flexibility to absorb food price increases without immediately passing them on.
($1 = 5.4039 reais)
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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