Brazil Caps Meal‑Voucher Fees at 3.6% Under Lula Decree as Edenred, Pluxee Shares Slide

Overview

• The decree overhauls rules for vale-refeição and vale-alimentação, with the government publishing the changes on Wednesday.
• Pluxee closed down 6.67% at €14.56 and Edenred fell 4% to €20.34 on the Paris exchange after the announcement.
• The framework reportedly caps merchant fees at 3.6% versus a 6% to 8% market average and mandates full interoperability, according to AlphaValue’s Yi Zhong.
• Edenred said the regulation differs markedly from prior discussions and it will pursue all available legal remedies, while Pluxee signaled it is evaluating court action.
• Bloomberg Intelligence estimates suggest a 10% to 16% EBITDA hit for Edenred and more than 20% for Pluxee if the fee cap is enforced.