BC will stop regulating food allowance cards in March

Food allowance cards will no longer be regulated by the Central Bank as of March 1st. With the change, companies that offer the payment service will have lighter rules. The resolution was published by the monetary authority this Wednesday (25).

By withdrawing the regulation of these instruments from the BC’s purview, rules such as capital requirement and fee limit for card interchange are no longer required of companies that offer the means of payment for food allowance.

The exclusion of SPB (Brazilian Payments System) food allowance cards took into account criteria established by a law passed in 2022 and a decree of 2021, which “equalized the conditions for providing the payment service”.

There is an understanding that the relaxation of regulations can lead to increased competitiveness in the sector, with the offer of new products and cost reduction.

For the worker who receives food allowance, there is no immediate impact with regulatory change.

“This measure seeks to give isonomic treatment to payment services intended for the use of food aid by the worker – regardless of whether it is offered through programs such as the Worker Assistance Program (PAT) or not”, says the autarchy.

The BC says it hopes that the set of measures will contribute to the existence of a “balanced, more competitive and efficient” ecosystem in the provision of this payment service.

According to the monetary authority, “they improve the conditions for the expansion of the universe of companies that offer this service and the development of new business models, benefiting both commercial establishments that accept this means of payment, as well as workers”.