Digital India: Meal vouchers to soon be available in form of cards, e-wallets

The logo of French food services and facilities management group Sodexo is seen at the company headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD PACKAGE Ð SEARCH ÒBUSINESS WEEK AHEAD JULY 4Ó FOR ALL IMAGES

Soon, you won’t have to carry bulky meal coupons. In line with the government’s Digital India push, the Reserve Bank of India has put in a proposal to digitise meal coupons.

In its draft guidelines for wallet companies, the central bank said that it won’t allow prepaid payment instrument (PPIs) in paper voucher format.

“The minimum validity of the prepaid meal instruments shall be one year from the date of loading. Existing paper vouchers shall not be valid beyond December 31, 2017,” the RBI said in its revised guidelines.

RBI also said the maximum value of PPIs cannot exceed Rs 1,00,000.

The leader in meal coupons, Sodexo, started issuing digital meal cards almost a year back. Other players like NiYO and Zeta too offers digital meal coupons.

Sodexo has a card that can be easily linked to the mobile and used like a wallet. NiYO offers a meal card with multiple wallets to its customers.

Digital e-wallet company – Paytm – also launched its own digital meal voucher this month. Here, employers can transfer money directly to employees for meal vouchers via its Food Wallet.

This will be redeemable at grocery stores, restaurants, fast food joints and super markets.

The food credit will be digital and help reduce risk of loss and expiry as is the case with paper vouchers.

According to the Income Tax department, rulers can give Rs 50 meal to employees, which is applicable for exemption. The monthly limit for coupons is Rs 2,200 usually.

The biggest benefit of using a digital wallet for meal vouchers is the convenience of transferring money for employers.

Also, the time between distribution and spending also narrows in case of digital vouchers.