Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 26, 2026
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Italy’s competition authority (AGCM) has begun probing Edenred and its Italian unit over potential abuse of dominance in the meal voucher market, targeting practices that may raise costs for retailers and consumers.
By Mateusz Rabiega
March 26 (Reuters) - Italian competition regulator AGCM said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into Edenred and its Italian unit, citing possible abuse of its dominant position in the country's employee meal voucher market.
The watchdog said its officials, together with the Italian Financial Police, carried out inspections at the premises of Edenred Italia on Wednesday.
Edenred said in a press release it was "at the disposal" of the AGCM to provide all necessary explanations, but declined to comment on the investigation while it was ongoing.
The French group's shares fell around 12% in early trading to their lowest price in nearly 10 years.
"Edenred is thought to have implemented a complex strategy aimed at shifting entirely unjustified costs onto large-scale retail chains," the AGCM said in a statement. It said the French company appeared to have unilaterally changed the way electronic meal vouchers were accepted.
Instead of allowing retailers' checkout systems to connect directly with its platforms, Edenred reportedly required them to use third-party interconnection providers, increasing operating costs for large retail groups.
"It seems Edenred also imposed other unfavourable conditions, such as longer voucher reimbursement periods," said the regulator, adding that the greater complexity and higher costs for retail chains may lead to higher consumer prices and affect the functioning of the market.
Edenred said it was confident about the outcome of this investigation, citing "strict respect" for meal voucher regulations in Italy.
(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
Edenred is being investigated by the Italian AGCM for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the employee meal voucher market.
AGCM is examining whether Edenred imposed unjustified costs on large retail chains and unilaterally changed how electronic meal vouchers are processed.
The regulator warns that higher operating costs for retailers could lead to increased prices for consumers and impact market competition.
The AGCM and the Italian Financial Police conducted inspections at Edenred Italia’s premises as part of the investigation.
Edenred did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the investigation.
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