Dispute over meal vouchers led iFood to negotiate the purchase of Alelo

This development isn't exactly in line with iFood's plans, which advocates for a shift in the sector primarily based on portability. Under the model advocated by the delivery app, each benefits card user would have the right to switch administrators, just as is currently the case with salary accounts. It would be up to the administrators to offer perks to attract consumers. With strong appeal to the end consumer, iFood could benefit from this model. The app already operates in the sector with iFood Benefícios.

The dispute over meal vouchers is old

Both meal voucher interoperability and portability were passed into law in 2022. The law's goal was to encourage competition and reduce costs in a market dominated by a few companies. More than two years later, both modalities remain unregulated. Now, interoperability regulations are moving forward in discussions with the government.

The portability advocated by iFood faces resistance in the industry. ABBT (Brazilian Association of Employee Benefits Companies), which represents established companies in the market such as Alelo, VR, and Ticket, believes that the model could lead to a war for users, with the offer of additional benefits whose costs would fall on the merchant's account. CBBT (Brazilian Chamber of Employee Benefits), which represents some of the main entrants in the market, such as Swile, Flash, and Caju, also has reservations about the solution.

While interoperability talks are progressing, card portability is on hold. "Portability will come later. We'll implement interoperability, and if it doesn't work out, we'll consider portability later," says a source familiar with the discussions.

If it acquires Alelo, iFood won't have to wait for this uncertain future to capture a significant market share. Currently, iFood has around 600,000 users on iFood Benefícios. Alelo is the largest in the market today, with around 6 million users alone.