Edenred boss Bertrand Dumazy pleaded for more generous spending limits for meal vouchers so that consumers spend more.
According to him, this is an effective way to come to the aid of restaurateurs hard hit by the health crisis and the confinement.
Meal vouchers made it possible, after the period of confinement which affected the catering, to bring customers back to the time of the lunch break.
But according to Bertrand Dumazy, boss of Edenred, we must go even further: he pleads for an increase in the daily spending limit for this method of payment.
This ceiling has indeed varied in recent months.
Originally set at 19 euros, it currently stands at 38 euros.
This increase decided by the government already had the objective, at the end of the confinement, to encourage the employees who had accumulated money in this way to spend it.
>> READ ALSO -
Coronavirus: in Paris, the hotel sector on the brink of disaster
This operation seems to be successful for the moment.
Indeed, "the average basket [that is to say the amount spent per meal, Editor's note] has gone from 14 to 21 euros", underlines Bertrand Dumazy.
An increase of 50% which, according to the boss of Edenred, goes hand in hand with the raising of the payment ceiling.
“Our fellow restaurateurs who are suffering from covid cannot accommodate more people in their restaurants. They also work at fixed costs. So the only way out for them is with the average customer basket. increases ", decrypts Bertrand Dumazy.
According to Edenred's estimates, the increase in the ceiling will allow restaurateurs to cash in "an additional 500 million euros" by the end of 2020.
Increase monthly amount
Thus, Edenred not only wants the daily expenditure ceiling to remain high, but also that the total allocation, ie the monthly amount available thanks to meal vouchers, will increase.
"This is our second fight. But since we are in France, it takes energy and a smile to change things," said Bertrand Dumazy.
The increase in the payment ceiling can, under the current formula, only benefit one type of sign: catering.
Should this system be extended to give consumers the possibility of paying more for their groceries at the supermarket by means of restaurant vouchers?
On this point, Bertrand Dumazy is cautious.
"It turns out that today, those who suffer the most, it is after all the restaurateurs," he argues.
"We must therefore ensure that this flow of money arrives first and foremost for restaurateurs who are in a difficult situation."
>> Find all the shows of La France bouge in replay and podcast here
No reduction in commission for restaurateurs
A more flexible and generous system for restaurants: if Bertrand Dumazy wants an upward revision of payment ceilings, he, however, rejects the idea of lowering Edenred's commission.
On each transaction, the company takes 4% of the amount paid.
This is how it finances itself.
"We will not do more on commissions," concludes the boss of Edenred.