SZÉP card reached its peak in December

By: Trademagazin Date: 2026. 01. 29. 11:52

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The SZÉP card reached its peak in December, with usage increasing by 42 percent – the Ministry of National Economy (NGM) announced on Thursday.

According to the ministry, the SZÉP card provided significant support to families’ holiday shopping in addition to their recreation last December. The government has once again made it possible to purchase cold food with the SZÉP card between December 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026.

As a result of the measure, cardholders spent 15 billion forints on cold food in the last month of the year. Thus, December spending exceeded the previous year by 42 percent and approached 61.6 billion forints, the Ministry of Tourism announced.

Families combining Christmas and New Year’s Eve with domestic travel were also helped by the fact that the amount of top-ups also showed a 19 percent increase in the twelfth month of the year, reaching 91.6 billion forints, they added.

According to the statement, the government is contributing to keeping more and more money in families’ pockets by increasing wages, reducing taxes and reducing price increases, so that they can spend more and more on recreation according to their own decisions.

The government also supports the carefree vacation of Hungarian families through the SZÉP card, which was the determining driving force of domestic tourism in 2025. Cardholders spent a total of 492 billion forints on their cards last year, which exceeded the use in 2024 by nearly 14 percent.

The Ministry of Tourism also indicated that at the end of 2025, nearly 127 billion forints were still available on the SZÉP cards, which could further stimulate domestic travel at the beginning of this year.