Benefit Cards
The most common is the food and/or meal benefit, which is guaranteed by the PAT (Workers’ Food Program) – created in 1976. Since then, the market has been dominated by a few companies, specifically Alelo, Ticket, Sodexo and VR Benefícios.
However, over time, new companies began to emerge with the aim of competing with the biggest on the market. Even with the difference in power and popularity in the market, they are gradually winning over new customers.
Some have achieved success because of the new functions they offer, giving customers access to a more technological platform, making it easier for the company’s HR department to manage the benefits cards.
If you’re interested in finding out which companies are behind benefit cards, what their features are and, above all, what makes them stand out, read on!
Differences between food and meal benefit cards
The values between benefit cards are defined by the company, according to each business. However, there are some differences between them.
The meal card is given to employees to help with their meals during working hours, and is usually accepted in most restaurants and snack bars, and in a few markets.
The food card, on the other hand, is given to employees to help with their food purchases. Unlike the meal card, it is available in most markets and in a few cases in restaurants and cafeterias.
All these releases vary according to the brand of the benefit cards and the establishment.
Companies that work with benefit cards
Regardless of whether a company chooses to offer food or meal benefit cards, it is necessary to choose an operator to provide the cards.
To help you choose, we’re going to talk about the main benefit card companies on the market. Check them out:
Alelo
As we mentioned above, Alelo is one of the big players in the market when it comes to benefits cards. According to a report by Época, the company has been market leader since 2013, recognized by PAT.
Its benefits cards are accepted in more than 500,000 establishments. In addition, Alelo already serves around 100,000 companies and has an average of 8 million end users.
Its advantages include a benefits package aimed at the end customer, offering discounts on purchases, partnerships with bookstores, partnerships with health food companies and other gifts.
Food and Meal Tickets
Ticket is the most traditional company on the market, being the first PAT company. It has existed since the days when benefits were distributed by paper and not cards.
Its cards are accepted in more than 320,000 accredited establishments and are used by around 5 million users and more than 70,000 companies.
Its advantages include a benefits club with various partners offering discounts to users. In addition, they make other types of benefit cards available to the company, such as transportation cards, gift cards, culture cards and much more.
Flash Benefits
Flash Benefits is one of the new companies entering the market. They offer the company to contract various benefits and make them available to the employee on just one card.
They have a wide range of partners who also offer discounts and other advantages to the end customer.
Vee Benefits
Like Flash, Vee Benefits is a company that offers a unique benefits card. You can choose which benefits will be available to employees, which can be food vouchers, meal vouchers, culture vouchers, transportation vouchers and other benefits.
They are PAT-certified and have gradually become popular with company management, thanks to the fact that they concentrate all the benefits available to employees on a single card.
Cashew Benefits
Caju Benefits is also a company that has unified all benefits in a single card. Founded in 2019, its main objective is to offer companies an uncomplicated way of bringing benefits to their employees, without any bureaucracy.
With this type of benefit card, the employee can choose how they want to use the amount that is available, be it for food, meals, transportation, and much more. What becomes an extra incentive for the employee through free choice, facilitates the company’s HR management process.
Sodexo
Sodexo is one of the most famous companies when it comes to food and meal benefit cards. It even won the ElogieAki Award in 2015, 2016 and 2017, in the category of “The most praised companies in Brazil”.
The company is already present in 80 countries, with 89,000 clients, 392,000 accredited establishments and 6.4 million users. Its success lies in its wide acceptance network, the price the company pays for the service and the quality of the service.
VR
VR Benefits was one of the first benefit card companies. Founded in 1977, it is already present in 5,000 municipalities and is available in more than 500,000 establishments.
The company offers food, meal, self-care and culture benefit cards.
They stand out for their security, customer service and the wide network of creditors who accept the card.
Ifood Benefits
Ifood Benefits is one of the new players on the market that has arrived to innovate. In addition to ordering services, they have started offering benefit cards for companies with food and meal vouchers.
For the company they offer great deals, with zero costs and no extra fees. In other words, you only pay the full value of your employees’ benefits.
For the employee, the big advantage is being able to use the card in more than 4 million markets and restaurants, as well as being able to use the credit when ordering delivery.
How to choose the best benefits card company
If you’ve come this far, you’ve seen that there are many options on the market. So how do you choose a company?
There are a few criteria you can take into account when making your decision:
Establish the amount of the benefit
Before you even hire a company, you need to determine the value of the benefit. For this definition, there are a few things that must be analyzed:
- The company’s budget;
- The average regional cost of food;
- The employee’s needs;
- Service fees;
- Average value stipulated in an agreement on the value of the benefit.
Conduct an employee survey
You can also gather opinions from internal employees, for example by asking them what kind of food they want, how much they think is ideal and what their dietary needs are.
This information can help you find benefit card companies that meet your business needs.
Analyze the coverage network, fees charged and advantages offered
As we saw above, each company offers a different type of service, with different advantages and fees.
So before you sign up with an operator, get in touch and analyze your options thoroughly. Find out what fees are charged, whether there are a high number of establishments in your region that accept the benefit card, and other questions.
Advantages of benefit cards
Offering employees a benefits card makes managing your company much easier, as well as being an incentive for them. Benefits cards also offer other advantages:
- Reduced taxes;
- Flexibility to choose benefits;
- Improved job satisfaction;
- Improved employer branding;
- Improved quality of life for employees.
What’s more, if you opt for a unified benefits card, the bureaucracy involved in taking care of benefits will be much less for your company. What’s more, it will motivate employees more because they will have the freedom to decide how to spend the money.