Up Portugal

What Up Portugal does

Up Portugal (legal name Le Chèque Déjeuner Portugal S.A.) is a Lisbon-headquartered social economy company that provides tax-advantaged extra-salary employee benefit solutions to Portuguese employers. Founded in 2009 and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French multinational Grupo Up—the third largest employee benefits company globally, present in 28 countries—Up Portugal issues a portfolio of six core products under the Up brand: Up Déjeuner (meal cards), Up EducaInfantil (child education vouchers for ages 0-6), Up Aluno (student education vouchers for ages 7+), Up Aluno Plus (unlimited education vouchers without age or value caps), Up Petrol (fuel and automotive expense vouchers), and Up Cadhoc (multi-service gift and incentive vouchers). Delivery is anchored on Mastercard-branded physical and virtual cards, supported by a partner network of major Portuguese retail chains (Continente, Pingo Doce, Minipreço, Intermarché, Auchan), and complemented by a mobile and web application (Saldo Cartão) that lets cardholders check balances, view transactions, block cards, and locate nearby partner establishments.

The business model is transaction-based, earning take-rate revenue on voucher issuance and management fees from issuing companies, with pricing customized to employer size and benefit package. The core economic proposition rests on Portuguese tax exemptions—23.75% TSU exemption for employers and 11% TSU exemption for employees on meal and education vouchers, plus IRC deductions and additional IRS exemptions—making the channel structurally attractive versus gross salary. Up Portugal runs a direct B2B enterprise sales motion targeting HR and finance departments, supplemented by digital self-serve channels (mobile apps, web portal, Up Benefícios platform). Customer segments span private companies of all sizes, public entities, and social economy organizations on a horizontal segmentation basis. The company is also a founding member of SVOUCHER, the Portuguese Association of Extra-Salary Voucher Companies, providing regulatory and industry positioning, and has partnered with Startup Lisboa to extend reach into the startup segment.

Name

Up Portugal

Legal name

Le Chèque Déjeuner Portugal S.A

Website

https://up-portugal.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Up Portugal is a Lisbon-based subsidiary of Grupo Up that issues tax-advantaged employee benefit vouchers—including meal, education, fuel, and gift cards—to Portuguese companies, serving as an extra-salary compensation platform for B2B employers across private, public, and social economy sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Benefits Management

NAICS

Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251), Health and Welfare Funds (525120)

akta.pro primary industry

Benefits Administration (BPACAPAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Benefits Administration & Enrollment Support (BPAAAIAB)

Keywords

• Employee benefits
• Meal vouchers
• Education benefits
• Fuel cards
• Gift vouchers

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Employee Benefits Voucher Issuance: Issuance of meal tickets, education vouchers, fuel vouchers, and gift vouchers to companies for their employees. Companies pay for the voucher values issued, generating revenue from the issuance and management fees.
2. Meal Card Management: Management of digital and physical meal cards for companies, providing balance checking, transaction history, and card blocking services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Up Portugal (Le Chèque Déjeuner Portugal S.A.) issues and manages tax-advantaged employee benefit cards and vouchers for Portuguese companies. Its product portfolio includes meal benefit cards (Up Déjeuner), education vouchers (Up EducaInfantil, Up Aluno, Up Aluno Plus), fuel vouchers (Up Petrol), and multi-brand gift vouchers (Up Cadhoc), all redeemable across an affiliated network of physical and digital merchant establishments.

Product overview

Up Portugal (Le Chèque Déjeuner Portugal) operates as a multi-solution employee benefits management platform, offering a portfolio of six core products under the Up brand umbrella: Up Déjeuner (meal cards), Up EducaInfantil (child education 0-6 years), Up Aluno (student education 7+ years), Up Aluno Plus (unlimited education), Up Petrol (fuel/automotive), and Up Cadhoc (multi-service gift vouchers). These products are complemented by a card balance checking application (Saldo Cartão), a partner network access platform (Rede Parceiros), and a centralized benefits management portal (Up Benefícios). The solutions provide fiscal advantages including TSU and IRS exemptions for employees and TSU/IRC deductions for employers, functioning primarily through a physical Mastercard-based card and mobile app, with some products available in paper voucher or virtual formats. The company is part of the Up Group, a French multinational present in 28 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Up Déjeuner: Meal voucher card solution for employee meal expenses
• Up EducaInfantil
• Up Aluno
• Up Aluno Plus
• Up Petrol
• Up Cadhoc

Products and services

• Up Déjeuner Tax-advantaged meal voucher card issued to employees of client companies, redeemable at affiliated restaurants, supermarkets, and food retailers across Portugal.
• Up EducaInfantil Education benefit voucher covering preschool and early-childhood education expenses (children aged 0-6), usable at affiliated nurseries and education establishments.
• Up Aluno Education benefit voucher for school-aged children (7+), applicable to school supplies, tuition, and education-related expenses at partner establishments.
• Up Aluno Plus Higher-cap or unlimited education benefit voucher for school-aged dependents, designed for clients seeking broader education allowance coverage.
• Up Petrol Fuel/automotive benefit card enabling employees to purchase fuel and related automotive services at partner petrol stations with tax-advantaged treatment.
• Up Cadhoc Multi-purpose gift and reward voucher usable across affiliated retail, leisure, and service establishments, offered for employee recognition, holiday gifts, or general incentive use.
• Saldo Cartão Mobile application (iOS/Android) for end-user employees to view their benefit card balance, transaction history, and locate nearby partner establishments.
• Up Benefícios Online platform that consolidates Up Portugal's benefit programs, allowing corporate client administrators to manage employee benefit allocations and access program information.

Quantifiable outcome

• TSU exemption of 23.75% for employers using meal vouchers
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SVOUCHER - Associação Portuguesa das Empresas de Títulos Extra SalariaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUp Portugal is a founding member of SVOUCHER, the Portuguese Association of Extra-Salary Voucher Companies. The association advocates for the use of voucher-based employee benefits, promoting advantages for workers, companies, service providers, and the State.
• Up France (Parent Company)coreOthersUp Portugal is part of Group Up, a French multinational and third largest employee benefits company in the world. Group Up is present in 28 countries and operates based on 5 core values: Commitment, Innovation, Solidarity, Entrepreneurship, and Equity.
• Startup LisboaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration with Startup Lisboa to provide increased savings and benefits to startups in their incubation program. André Costa, Head of Strategy at Startup Lisboa, noted the partnership helps increase available savings and benefits for the startup community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Up France: Up France is the parent and originator of the Up Déjeuner model in France. It is comparable to Up Portugal as the flagship operating entity in the same network, sharing the same product framework, regulatory positioning around tax-advantaged benefits, and B2B HR sales motion.
• Edenred: Edenred is the global market leader in employee benefits and payment solutions, including the Ticket Restaurant meal voucher. It directly competes with Up Portugal in the Portuguese meal and benefits voucher market with overlapping product categories, B2B HR-targeted sales motion, and a partner merchant network.
• Pluxee: Pluxee is the benefits and rewards spinoff from Sodexo Group, operating the legacy Sodexo meal voucher and employee benefit products. It is one of Up Portugal's main direct competitors in the Portuguese corporate benefits market with comparable product breadth and tax-advantaged positioning.
• Swile: Swile is a French employee benefits platform offering a digital benefits card replacing paper meal vouchers. It competes head-to-head with Up Portugal's digital meal card proposition, particularly for multinational and digitally-native employers across Europe including Portuguese subsidiaries.
• Up Spain: Up Spain (Grupo Up) is a sister entity within the same parent group operating the equivalent business in Spain. It is the closest internal comparable to Up Portugal — same product taxonomy, same parent, same technology stack — providing a direct benchmark for unit economics and product roadmap.

Regional players

• Spendit: Spendit is a Spanish employee benefits and flexible compensation platform offering meal cards, transport, and childcare benefits. It is comparable to Up Portugal in product structure and operates in the neighboring Iberian market with the same tax-advantaged framework.
• Vivup: Vivup is a UK-based employee benefits and wellbeing platform offering salary sacrifice and flexible benefits. It is a regional comparable in the same European employee benefits category, useful for benchmarking digital adoption and product expansion outside Iberia.

Emerging players

• Pleo: Pleo is a European expense management and corporate card platform expanding into broader employee benefits. It is an emerging competitor at the intersection of expense management and benefits that may overlap with Up Portugal's corporate B2B HR buyer over time.
• WIZE Solutions: WIZE Solutions provides corporate benefits and rewards platforms in Iberia. It overlaps with Up Portugal in the meal voucher and flexible benefits category for mid-market Portuguese employers seeking digital-first benefit administration.
• Coverflex: Coverflex is a Portuguese flexible compensation and benefits platform that allows employees to allocate salary across meal, transport, childcare, and training allowances. It targets the same Portuguese HR buyer as Up Portugal with a more digital, flexible-compensation framing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/up-portugal

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Up Portugal