The cash-back system is slowly spreading in stores in Hungary

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 07. 22. 12:30

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Hungary’s cash-back system, which was introduced in July 2023 and allows customers to withdraw cash from store cash registers, has still not been widely adopted. The system, which allows cash withdrawals of up to HUF 40,000 twice a month free of charge, did not find much support among commercial chains. A year after its introduction, only the PENNY chain of stores still offers this service on a national level.

According to data from the European Central Bank, the cash-back service has a limited spread in Europe. While the utilization of the system is high in Belgium and Finland, in other countries, such as Spain and Austria, the rate remains below 5 percent. In the case of Hungary, there is no exact data, but the situation may be similar to less common countries – reports the Pénzcentrum.

In our country, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl initially investigated the possibility of introducing the system, but a year later no substantial progress has been made. Tesco and Auchan stores still lack the service, while Spar has explicitly stated that it has no plans to introduce it. Lidl remained open to future possibilities, but at the moment the service is not available at them either. At Penny, the service has been running since the beginning.

The introduction of the cash-back service involves serious technological challenges, including the need for special terminals and integrated software. In addition, the provision of cash and security concerns, such as the risk of robbery associated with handling large amounts of cash, further complicate the use of the system.