Wolt Ends Partnership with Cibus, Targets Employee Meal Budget Market with Own Digital Card

Wolt is set to end its six-year partnership with Cibus in December, marking the start of a major battle over control of Israel's employee meal budget market. Previously, Cibus cards were a primary payment method on Wolt's app, enabling hundreds of thousands of employees to order food using employer-provided meal budgets. This collaboration benefited both parties: Cibus expanded its value proposition to clients, while Wolt gained exposure to thousands of companies and employees.

Behind the scenes, Wolt developed its own employee budget management solution, Wolt Benefits, a digital credit card issued by Cal, launched last year alongside the Cibus partnership. This card allows Wolt to compete directly with established players like Cibus and Ten Bis. After deciding to terminate the commercial agreement with Cibus by the end of December, Wolt began approaching employers who previously worked with Cibus to switch to Wolt Benefits. Companies such as Lemonade, Lightricks, HiBob, PayBox, Wonderful, Melio, and Canada Israel have already joined.

Cibus CEO Eitan Singer, who secured market leadership through the Wolt partnership, is resisting Wolt's advances. He personally met with clients to assure them that ending the cooperation will not affect employees’ ability to order via Wolt using Cibus cards. Tensions peaked recently when Wolt launched a campaign portraying Cibus as an "ex" refusing to accept the breakup, aiming to clarify the situation for customers and complicate Cibus’s retention efforts.

In response, Cibus officially launched Cibus Pay, a prepaid digital credit card by Cal that enables employees to order on Wolt without a direct commercial agreement between the companies. The card can be added to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and used across delivery apps without fees for employers or employees.

Wolt criticized Cibus’s solution as "misleading and cumbersome," emphasizing that only Wolt allows unlimited 24/7 orders without delivery fees. The employee meal budget market in Israel is worth about 6 billion shekels annually, with Cibus holding 60% and Ten Bis 40%. Smaller competitors like Hightechzone, Bttr, Goodi, and the upcoming Meshloah digital wallet are also entering the space.

Cibus continues to grow, adding over 230 new companies in May and June and serving more than 500,000 employees across 8,000 companies. While Cibus will lose commission fees from Wolt and other delivery apps after December, it prefers to retain customers rather than lose them to competitors. The shift will require Cibus to adjust its business model and find new revenue streams.

Wolt is confident in its profitability, leveraging its own delivery and customer service infrastructure, unlike Cibus, which relies on external couriers and has no plans to build its own delivery network. The competition is evolving from employee benefits to fintech and digital wallets, focusing on controlling the daily interface with employers and employees. The employee meal budget market is transforming from plastic cards to a high-tech battleground where budget control and user experience are key.