Hungarians Would Move Benefit Payments to a Card

The majority of Hungarians believe that digital solutions could make the provision of benefits to people in need of assistance more efficient and beneficial for those concerned, according to a representative telephone survey of 1,000 people conducted by Kutatópont public opinion research firm on behalf of Edenred Hungary that specializes in prepaid corporate services including employee benefits, meal vouchers, loyalty programs.

The overwhelming majority of respondents would support the addition of rechargeable, digitally payable, card-format vouchers to social aid benefit payments. It would primarily be used to buy hot and cold food, medicine, clothes and shoes, according to the research cited by the business news site napi.hu

Almost half of respondents said they were well informed about the functioning of the Hungarian social assistance system (41%), and 40% were aware that the government and local authorities jointly manage the social assistance system in Hungary. At the same time, most of them think that the local social assistance system works better than the central one.

According to the survey, the most popular social assistance currently available is the family allowance (24%), followed by the old-age benefits (3%) and disability allowance (2%).

83% of those surveyed think it would be a good idea or even support the inclusion of a voucher for purchases or gifts in social benefits, with the most suitable option being a digital payment card that can be loaded with a certain amount (57%).

The reason why they prefer to use a voucher in card format rather than a traditional paper voucher is that they admit that it is more convenient, simpler, faster (touch payment) and safer (PIN code), and most of them also find it easier, the absence of change for digital solutions, no need to bother with different denominations and no need to worry about reaching a certain amount of money with the voucher, thus avoiding unnecessary payments.

When asked if they had ever used a voucher for shopping, the vast majority of respondents said yes (80%), with the majority of them spending the amount available mainly on hot and cold food (60%). Those who did not buy food spent their allowance on clothing and shoes (31%) and books and newspapers (21%). If their expectations were met and social assistance were supplemented with shopping or gift vouchers, respondents would prefer to spend on food, clothes and medicine (66%, 38% and 36%, respectively) using the cards; and, to dispel an earlier misconception, 9 out of 10 would also accept that tobacco products and alcohol could not be bought with vouchers. The higher amount of aid is more important for people in need than the inclusion of these products in the scope of use.