If you run a food business in Italy, accepting food vouchers (buoni pasto) can help grow your customer base and boost revenue. Let's examine the types of businesses that can take food vouchers, how online versions operate and the pros and cons of receiving them.

What's in this article?

• Accepting food vouchers as an additional online payment method
  
• What are food vouchers?
  
• How to start accepting food vouchers online
  
• What types of businesses can accept food vouchers?
  
• Pros and cons of accepting food vouchers
  
• How food vouchers work
  

Accepting food vouchers as an additional online payment method

Allowing your customers to pay with food vouchers is a great way to stand out from your competitors on the web, as an increasingly large number of diners in Italy wish to use vouchers not just for eating out, but also for online grocery shopping and other food purchases.

What are food vouchers?

Food vouchers are an alternative payment method that employees receive as a job benefit. Depending on the issuers' terms and conditions, they can be used for:

• Meals purchased at partner bars, restaurants or workplace cafeterias
  
• Groceries purchased at partner stores and supermarkets, both in-person and online
  

How are paper and digital food vouchers different?

• Paper food vouchers: These are the traditional vouchers that customers hand over when paying in person. The outlets that receive them must bundle and mail them to the issuing business to obtain the actual reimbursement. Paper vouchers are still common, but they require more administrative work and getting the money takes a little longer.
  
• Digital food vouchers: This format works with a dedicated digital card or app and lets customers settle the bill through point-of-sale (POS) devices or online platforms. This increasingly popular option offers several obvious benefits, including lower risk of error or fraud, quicker checkout and a hassle-free way for obtaining the funds.
  

Key differences between paper and digital food vouchers

What do you need to do to start accepting food vouchers?

• Enter into a contract: Sign an agreement with at least one business that distributes them.
  
• Become an authorised establishment: By entering into the contract, your venture becomes part of the issuer's network of authorised establishments that support food vouchers.
  
• Implement a payment system: To accept them in both print and electronic formats, you might need to set up dedicated tools such as POS devices or digital platforms.
  
• Comply with contractual terms: These terms can include settlement times, commissions and the handling of food vouchers.
  
• Train staff: To prevent errors, train your staff on how to identify, accept and process them.
  

How to start accepting food vouchers online

A growing share of customers use electronic food vouchers when shopping on the web; accepting them as an online checkout option represents a significant opportunity for businesses. Offering this method helps you rise above the competition, enhances customer satisfaction, boosts loyalty among those who receive monthly vouchers and increases the average purchase value.

Stripe's partnership with Satispay makes it easy for you to support digital food vouchers as a payment option for your e-commerce business. No physical POS or complicated setup is required.

Here's how to get started:

• Sign up with Satispay to start handling food vouchers
  
• Set up your payment system with Stripe
  
• Indicate clearly on your website that you accept food vouchers for online purchases
  

Here's what the experience is like from the shopper's point of view:

• The customer logs onto the website
  
• They add products to their shopping basket
  
• At checkout, they select the digital food voucher payment option
  
• The transaction is authenticated
  
• The customer receives an order confirmation
  

With Stripe Payments and its Optimised Checkout Suite, you can attract shoppers who want to pay with online food vouchers. This solution allows you to accept web payments quickly and easily, boosting conversion rates and ensuring compliance.

What types of businesses can accept food vouchers?

Restaurants, bars, cafes, supermarkets, grocery and specialty grocery stores and food e-commerce businesses are among the establishments that can accept food vouchers.

What are the major food voucher-issuing businesses in Italy?

To support this payment method, you need to enter into a contract with one or more food voucher providers and join their network of partner venues. Here are Italy's leading companies in this field:

• Satispay: Satispay has launched a fully electronic food-voucher solution integrated into its app, allowing customers to pay without a physical card and merchants to support them without a POS terminal. It features simplified meal credit management processes and competitive fees.
  
• Edenred (Ticket Restaurant): Edenred, a market leader, offers both print and electronic food vouchers usable at a vast network of establishments. Users access the electronic version via an app and a contactless card, while built-in tools enable businesses and customers to manage their vouchers efficiently.
  
• Pellegrini: Italian company Pellegrini supplies paper and digital food vouchers through the Pellegrini Card, which is accepted at thousands of participating locations. They also run large-scale catering operations.
  
• Sodexo: Sodexo offers both print and electronic (Pluxee Card) food vouchers that are usable in bars, restaurants, supermarkets and for online shopping. It also operates in integrated corporate welfare services.
  
• Up Day: Up Day (previously known as Day Ristoservice) provides paper and digital food vouchers usable at a wide array of participating venues. The Up Day electronic ticket, available as a card or an app, can be used for web purchases.
  
• Repas: Repas supplies print and electronic food voucher solutions for operations of all sizes. The Repas Lunch Coupon enables straightforward, tracked payments throughout a vast network of partner businesses.
  

Pros and cons of accepting food vouchers

Accepting food vouchers can help attract new customers and increase visibility, but it also comes with added costs and operational challenges.

Advantages of food vouchers

• Expanded customer base: Food vouchers provide access to a broader audience – in particular employees who receive them as part of their compensation – helping to boost sales.
  
• Enhanced customer loyalty: Voucher users tend to return regularly, offering an opportunity to build long-term loyalty.
  
• Higher average spend: Vouchers rarely cover the full cost, so shoppers often pay the remainder of the purchase, increasing the overall transaction value.
  
• Improved exposure through voucher partners: Voucher issuers often promote participating businesses through their channels, boosting your visibility.
  

Disadvantages of food vouchers

• Commissions: Voucher providers charge commissions – currently capped at 5% – which might still impact profit margins.
  
• Potentially complex voucher management: Managing meal credits can be complicated for merchants, especially if the voucher providers require multiple POS devices.
  
• Reduced choice for customers: Vouchers can typically be used only within a network of partner establishments, thereby limiting customer options.
  

How food vouchers work

Paper and digital food vouchers work differently.

Paper food vouchers

Paper food vouchers are still widely used, particularly among small businesses or in areas where digital checkouts are less prevalent. Each carries a face value (e.g. €7 or €8), an expiry date and the name of the provider. To pay, the diner signs, dates and hands over the ticket at the register. The merchant issues a receipt marked "uncollected payment" ("corrispettivi non riscossi"), which includes a 10% value-added tax (VAT), and retains it for collection purposes.
Here's what you need to do to start accepting and collecting print vouchers:

• Formalise an agreement with a voucher provider
  
• Check that the vouchers presented to you are genuine, valid and not expired
  
• Store them safely
  
• Send them periodically to the provider according to their instructions, typically by mail or courier
  

Once the provider receives the vouchers, it reviews them and transfers the total amount minus the contractual commission. Settlement times typically range from 30 to 90 days, depending on the specific agreement.

Digital food vouchers

Digital food vouchers have transformed the market, enhancing convenience for consumers and merchants. Instead of paper tickets, employees use a physical tap-and-go card or a mobile tool.
Here's the process for electronic vouchers:

• The customer pays using the digital card or app at the merchant's POS or online.
  
• The POS (if applicable) reads the available balance and processes the order, including partial settlements. For example, €8 of the total can be covered using an electronic voucher, with the rest paid in cash or by card.
  
• The system records the amount electronically and automatically transfers the funds to the merchant.
  

How much does accepting food vouchers cost?

The primary cost of accepting food vouchers is the commission that the issuing company charges the merchant. In the past, fees varied widely depending on the voucher provider, the format (paper or digital), transaction volumes and certain terms and conditions. They typically ranged from 6% to 12%, with some cases reaching 15%. A merchant handing an €8 voucher would net between €7.52 to €6.80 after the fee.

The 2023 Annual Market and Competition Act, which took effect on 16 December 2024, established a 5% maximum on that commission. The 5% limit applies to new contracts signed after the law took effect. For existing agreements, the cap won't be implemented until 1 September 2025, allowing time for adjustments. Food vouchers already issued by 1 September 2025, can be used under the old terms until 31 December 2025.