The SZÉP card remains stable – even if not at Lake Balaton

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 07. 01. 10:56

Although its popularity has decreased slightly, the SZÉP card is still a key player in the Hungarian cafeteria system: according to the latest data from the K&H SME Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2025, it is the second most popular form of fringe benefit among small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the research, every tenth company manager provides such a benefit to their employees, right after the 13th month bonus and other rewards – writes Pénzcentrum.

In the last summer season, K&H Bank SZÉP card customers spent slightly more than 9.3 billion forints, in a total of nearly 1.5 million transactions. The average spend per transaction was 6,500 forints. More than a third of the purchases – about 650 thousand transactions – took place in Budapest. Interestingly, however, the shores of Lake Balaton, especially Siófok, were less attractive to SZÉP card holders: the city closed the bank’s top 15 list with only 10.5 thousand transactions.

Home renovation, DIY and new acceptance points

The expansion of the usability of SZÉP cards, especially the authorization of purchases for home renovation purposes, has significantly increased the turnover of department store chains. The three most popular retail destinations among SZÉP card customers are OBI, Praktiker and JYSK, where the average spending value is around 35–40 thousand forints. However, taking into account smaller stores, the average basket value remains below 28 thousand forints.

The number of acceptance points has also grown spectacularly: more than 3,300 new partners have registered since the beginning of 2025, so that 46 thousand acceptance points currently belong to the K&H SZÉP card network.

The new “active Hungarians” pocket is not spinning yet

A new pocket was added to the system as of January this year: the purpose of the sub-account named “active Hungarians” is to encourage spending related to sports, recreation and community activities. However, in the months following its introduction, utilization is still low: cardholders have only registered spending of HUF 9 million.

Although the dynamics of the SZÉP card have slowed down somewhat, the numbers show that it continues to play an important role in the domestic fringe benefits palette, especially in stimulating household spending and supporting targeted consumption trends.