Employee benefits
For 43% of French employees, benefits are one of the top two factors influencing their motivation to work (1). Based on the concept of the “cafeteria plan” in Belgium(2), the French HRTech Mūcho, whose service began to be marketed in September 2024, is a platform that centralizes and simplifies the management of all employee benefits. Lunch vouchers, gift vouchers, mobility or teleworking packages and other benefits can add up to €6,000 a year in purchasing power and are fully exempt from employer social security contributions. However, 75% of employees say that these benefits do not directly meet their needs and preferences.
Can you tell us how the Mūcho project came into being?
Christophe Doré: We realized that company benefits are currently underutilised since they are not suited to the changing needs of employees and are poorly valued in relation to the financial effort of the employer. Traditionally, these benefits have relied on multiple providers, making them time consuming and complex to administer. The idea behind a platform like Mūcho is to give employees the autonomy to spend their benefits as they wish and to monitor and enhance the additional purchasing power allocated by their employer. It also means that companies can easily configure, implement and manage their overall benefit strategies in compliance with URSSAF (French social security body) rules and measure their impact.
Why did BNP Paribas choose to join the Mūcho project?
Xavier Chopard: This project allows us to address targeted business and HR issues. As Europe’s leading corporate bank, we need to explore a wide range of support solutions and services beyond purely banking ones. We have a range of Beyond Banking offerings that need to be expanded and should be aligned with the needs of our customers. The range of companies targeted by Mūcho is extremely broad, but SMEs and mid-cap companies are the primary targets of this new platform, so our presence on this target represents a clear competitive advantage. BNP Paribas has also provided financial support for the creation of Mūcho, with a view to possible integration into its offering. On the HR side, the Mūcho project allows us to address the issue of advocacy and employee well-being. We’re particularly focused on the needs of employees because benefits affect their purchasing power in a more challenging economic environment.
What’s so original about the creation of Mūcho?
Cédric Ardouin: It’s a tripartite creation funded by BNP Paribas and based on an emerging form of partnership between a corporate startup studio, 321, and BNP Paribas as client. In this model, each party has a stake in the startup.
In just 6 months, 321 completed the so-called design phase (lasting 2 months), followed by the build phase, before finding entrepreneurs to lead the project in its marketing phase.
How is Mūcho different from other platforms available on the market?
Cédric Ardouin: What sets Mūcho apart is the specificity of its “one-stop-shop” offer. In other words, it integrates all of the employees’ prepaid benefits in one place, whereas other players often address only a part of them. It therefore gives the company total control and management of these benefits.
Why join forces with BNP Paribas on the Mūcho project?
Christophe Doré: BNP Paribas is much more than a financial partner, in fact, it’s the leading European banking group in the SME market, which happens to be Mūcho’s core target. By teaming up with the BNP Paribas Group, we benefit from its knowledge of SME managers and CFOs, our preferred contacts. Moreover, the guarantee of a leading player like BNP Paribas is essential for a new company like ours. Mūcho thus benefits from the best of both worlds: the agility and speed of a start-up, coupled with the clout of a major banking group.
What is Mūcho’s business model?
Christophe Doré: Mūcho is based on a fair business model. We charge management fees to companies (when transferring funds to the money pots, for example) and collect interchange on payments made with the Mūcho card. Unlike the traditional players in this market, we have chosen not to charge merchants additional commissions. This is a responsible move that preserves merchant margins and allows us to offer the widest acceptance network in the market. The group insurance and employee savings plans that we will soon be offering will also diversify our sources of income.
Who are Mūcho’s competitors?
Christophe Doré: Mūcho doesn’t really have any competitors, as most of the leading players in the sector only address part of the offer with a specific expertise. Mūcho, on the other hand, is a “holistic” employee benefits proposition, consisting of prepaid benefits, private health insurance and soon value sharing.
Mūcho thus benefits from the best of both worlds: the agility and speed of a start-up, coupled with the clout of a major banking group."
What are Mūcho’s ambitions?
Christophe Doré: Mūcho aims to become a leading player in employee benefits in France and to open up the European market. Our model can be replicated in countries where legislation on employee benefits is as favourable as in France, such as Belgium and Italy.At the same time, we want to expand Mūcho’s offering, particularly in the areas of private health and pension insurance. We can already announce two major new features that will soon be added to the platform:
- A group health and provident insurance brokerage offer to benefit from better rates and/or better compensation for employees starting in February 2025
- Distribution of employee savings and group pension solutions from BNP Paribas Epargne & Retraite Entreprises, during 2025.
These new products, which enhance the offer and the experience, are key levers for loyalty.
Discover MUCHO platform
1POINT6 (formerly Panto)
The first collaboration between BNP Paribas and studio 321
In October 2023, BNP Paribas financially supported 1POINT6 (formerly Panto), a fintech specializing in the management of marketplace payments, co-founded with the startup studio 321.
Co-founded in 2019 by Patrick Amiel and Romain Ledru-Mathé, 321 is a French innovation and corporate venture studio made up entirely of entrepreneurs. It proposes a new model of “venture building” with large CAC 40 companies and international groups.
Sources & definitions :
(1) Alight, 2023 Rapport in french on Employee benefits in a changing world: what are the priorities for your workforce?
(2) "Cafeteria plan": a solution offered by the employer that allows employees to personalise their remuneration and convert part of their gross salary into extralegal benefits. (UCM)
