As of March 1st, food allowance cards will no longer be regulated by the Central Bank (BC). The change consists of resolution published today (25) by the agency, which withdraws these instruments from the Brazilian Payment System (SPB).
The change will not have an immediate impact on workers, but it will reduce the rules, restrictions and regulations currently in force on cards that supplement workers’ meals.
In a note, the BC reported that the change stems from recent laws, passed in 2021 and 2022, which guaranteed isonomy between food allowances and the benefits of the Worker Assistance Program (PAT), which was already outside the SPB.
According to the monetary authority, the withdrawal of regulation will increase competition in the sector, benefiting workers. “With this, conditions improve for the expansion of the universe of companies that offer this service [cartões de auxílo-alimentação] and the development of new business models, benefiting both commercial establishments that accept this means of payment and workers”, informed the BC.
