According to the rules of the postal service, cash is not allowed to be sent by ordinary mail, but the confidentiality of mail makes this impossible to enforce. Cash may be sent by registered mail, but the compensation in the event of loss or theft amounts to only €29 per posting.

There is a third alternative: The socalled mailing with declared value repays losses in full, but is much more expensive to send. According to the postal ombudswoman, businesses are taking a risk by choosing the cheapest option.

Businesses accepting vouchers often have to send back vouchers twice a month, to two different issuers. “Is it any wonder businesses decide to look after the pennies?” asked Lieven Cloots, legal adviser at Unizo.

NSZ, meanwhile, said that “businesses have the right to expect a faultless service from a government enterprise like bpost.” And they pointed out that business is the only victim: The postal service has already been paid, while the issuers still only have to pay out once if the vouchers have been stolen, or not at all if they have been lost.

The government, meanwhile, is looking forward to the introduction of electronic vouchers, which will allow employees to pay using a smartcard, with shops and restaurants then being reimbursed automatically. In the meantime, the police have been called in to investigate the latest disappearance.