myPOS now accepts SZÉP cards

myPOS introduces yet another functionality to facilitate payment acceptance for Hungarian businesses in the leisure industry. From now on, merchants using myPOS will be able to take payments from customers with SZÉP cards just as easily as accepting any other payment card. The new feature will allow businesses to offer a wider variety of payment methods and thus boost their sales.

The SZÉP card benefits in Hungary

SZÉP cards are Hungary’s most popular fringe benefits programme, issued by the OTP Bank. They are a form of compensation offered by companies to employees as an addition to the standard salaries. Their taxation is more favourable than that of an employee’s salary, which is why employers offer them.

The SZÉP card aims to promote a healthy work-life balance and support the leisure industry. The cards are also known as “cafeteria” because employees are allowed to choose which fringe benefit options they want to add to their compensation plan, just like choosing from a cafeteria menu.

The benefits plan is divided into three categories, also referred to as “pockets”: accommodation, hot meals and leisure. Prior to the pandemic, employees had to select in advance how much money they wanted to put into each category. However, the “pockets” are now interoperable, meaning you can pay for an activity using money from either category.

Merchants using myPOS can now accept SZÉP cards

As part of its effort to provide Hungarian merchants with more flexibility and payment options, myPOS introduces new functionality. It affects merchants using myPOS Carbon and myPOS Go Combo, which will now have the opportunity to receive SZÉP payments.

Should a merchant decide they want to start accepting fringe benefits, they will need to go through a few easy steps to enable the functionality on their POS terminal. Here is how it works:

1. The merchant submits an SZÉP acceptance request to OTP Hungary.
2. The bank reviews the request to ensure all conditions are met and then approves it.
3. After the approval of OTP is issued, myPOS enables the functionality on the merchant’s POS device.
4. The merchant logs in to their myPOS account and agrees to the terms and conditions of accepting SZÉP card payments.

The initiative aims at supporting merchants in the recreation, entertainment and tourism sectors by allowing them to work with more payment methods and ensuring they never miss a customer. As a result, myPOS merchants will not only increase their sales, but also improve customer satisfaction, promoting loyalty and recurring activity in the long run.