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New Change in Food and Meal Vouchers, Foreseen in Decree 12.712, Creates a More Efficient and Competitive Model, with Fee Caps, Shorter Transfer Periods, and Interoperability Among Brands, Opening Space for Total Savings of Up to R$ 7.9 Billion per Year
The change in food and meal vouchers, announced by the Ministry of Finance, promises to structurally alter the benefits market linked to the Worker’s Food Program. With the new decree, the system will operate under stricter rules for fees, transfer periods, and interoperability among brands, opening space for an average savings of R$ 225 per worker per year and significant cost reductions for companies and commercial establishments.
According to the Secretariat of Economic Reforms, the goal is to transform a historically concentrated market into a more open environment, with more competition, transparency, and efficiency transfers for those who pay and for those who receive. The change in food and meal vouchers impacts companies, supermarkets, bars, restaurants, and especially workers who use the benefit as an essential part of their monthly budget allocated for food.
What the New Decree Changes in Food and Meal Vouchers
Decree 12.712 redefines the operational logic of payment arrangements linked to food and meal vouchers within the Worker’s Food Program and food assistance in general.
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In practice, the government reshapes the rules governing the relationship between issuing companies, accredited establishments, and end users.
These payment arrangements are the set of rules, fees, and electronic settlement flows that allow workers to pay with the benefit card and for the establishment to receive the amounts later.
Oversight remains the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, which monitors whether operations follow PAT parameters and respect the allocation of resources for food.
By tweaking this framework, the government aims to correct historical inefficiencies, market concentration, and high intermediation costs, which had been reducing profit margins for bars, restaurants, and supermarkets and, consequently, putting pressure on prices for the end consumer.
Estimated Savings and Direct Impact on Workers’ Wallets
One of the most visible points of the change in food and meal vouchers is the estimated annual savings.
The Secretariat of Economic Reforms estimates that the new model can generate up to R$ 7.9 billion per year in cost reductions to the system as a whole, including companies granting the benefit, accredited establishments, and financial operators.
In practice, the Ministry of Finance anticipates an average savings of R$ 225 per worker per year, considering the combination of lower fees, greater competition among brands, and lower acceptance costs for commerce.
Although this amount will not directly arrive as extra deposits on the card, the official expectation is that supermarkets, bars, and restaurants will be able to operate with lower costs and, at least partially, pass this gain onto consumers in the form of more competitive prices.
This point will be decisive in measuring the success of the measure: if efficiency gains remain solely in financial intermediation, the effect perceived by the worker is likely to be limited.
If there is a real transfer, the impact can be felt in daily life, especially in a tight budget and expensive food scenario.
Fee Caps and Maximum Transfer Period
One of the central axes of the change in food and meal vouchers is the establishment of a cap of 3.6 percent for the fees charged to commercial establishments by acquirers and brands.
Today, many companies complain about high fees, which erode margins and, in some cases, lead to the refusal of certain benefit cards.
Additionally, the decree sets a maximum period of 15 days for the transfer of amounts to establishments that accept food and meal vouchers.
In practice, this reduces the time that money is “tied up” in intermediation, improving the cash flow for bars, restaurants, bakeries, and supermarkets.
By limiting fees and shortening periods, the government aims to reduce intermediation costs and increase financial predictability in the food sector, a capital-intensive segment sensitive to receipt delays.
The expectation is that this combination of fee caps and faster transfers will help stabilize prices and prevent the cost of the benefit from being excessively embedded in meals and basic food baskets.
End of Discounts and Other Practices Considered Abusive
The decree also directly targets practices that the government classifies as distorting.
Among them, the discount on the contracted value, where the establishment agrees to receive less than the nominal value of the benefit in exchange for advance payment or specific commercial conditions.
The change in food and meal vouchers prohibits discounts, transfer periods that distort the pre-paid nature of the benefit, and the payment of amounts not tied to healthy food.
The aim is to ensure that resources granted under the PAT and food assistance program are effectively dedicated to purchasing food and meals and not used as financial exchange or indirect credit mechanisms.
By curbing this type of operation, the government seeks to avoid market distortions, reduce space for contractual abuses, and protect the social purpose of the benefit, which is to complement workers’ income to ensure regular access to adequate food.
Open Market and Interoperability Among Brands
Another pillar of the change in food and meal vouchers is the opening of the payment arrangements market.
The decree mandates that systems with more than 500,000 workers linked adopt an open model, where card issuance and establishment accreditation can be performed by different institutions, as long as they meet the system’s rules.
This design reduces entry barriers and tends to increase competition among banks, fintechs, and specialized operators, replicating the movement observed in the credit and debit card sector since 2010, when the CADE encouraged the breaking of exclusivities among brands and acquirers.
In addition to the opening, the decree provides a period of up to one year for the implementation of interoperability among brands.
This means that, once the transition is completed, food and meal benefit cards should be accepted at any accredited establishment within the arrangements, regardless of the brand originally contracted by the company.
In practice, this interoperability can significantly increase the acceptance network for the worker, reduce frustration from not being able to use the benefit at certain places, and strengthen the perceived value of the voucher in daily life.
Control, Oversight and Maintenance of Nutritional Focus
Despite the opening and increased competition, the government reinforces that the system will remain subject to strict control and oversight rules.
All institutions operating in the food and meal voucher environment remain subordinate to PAT’s rules and the monitoring of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, which oversees the appropriate allocation of resources.
The Secretariat of Economic Reforms emphasizes that the change in food and meal vouchers does not relax the program’s nutritional focus.
On the contrary, the declared intent is to consolidate a more efficient, competitive, and transparent payment system without losing sight of the central objective of ensuring access to adequate and healthy food for formal workers receiving the benefit.
The success of the measure will depend largely on the market’s ability to absorb the new rules, the actions of oversight bodies, and the degree of transfer of efficiency gains to prices and service quality.
From there, it will be possible to measure if the new model really fulfilled the promise of easing workers’ budgets and making the benefits ecosystem fairer and more functional.
In your opinion, does the change in food and meal vouchers have real potential to show up in the supermarket bill and in the price of ready-made dishes, or will the effect tend to remain restricted to the behind-the-scenes of the financial system?
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