A SCOTS gift card scheme has reported a successful campaign thus far as it celebrates registering over 1,200 businesses.
Over 1,200 businesses have registered for the Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card scheme.
The surge comes after the campaign reported over £5m spent in the local economy since they were distributed last month.
Over 85,000 households received the gift card – worth £105 each – from Glasgow City Council, with 73,000 having been activated and used since.
The scheme aims to help eligible, low-income households fight the ongoing cost of living crisis whilst giving a financial boost to the local economy.
Both national and international businesses have signed up for the scheme, with the total number expected to grow over 1,500 in the coming months.
Household items and utility bills paid in-store are the most frequent card expenditure.
Benefitiearies can split the card value into multiple transactions and choose to spend it in firms from retail, hospitality and entertainment to public transport.
Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “I encourage those who have not registered to do so to allow them to benefit – and this is also the case for those remaining households who have still to activate their cards.”
The gift card stems from the Scotland Loves Local campaign, a project set up by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) to help local business recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.
STP Chief Officer Phil Prentice said: “This shows the huge power of the gift card programme in delivering significant benefits to people and businesses during what are challenging times.
“It also demonstrates the huge potential of the cards to support the local economy for the long term as we encourage everyone to choose local.”
The scheme hopes to motivate residents, visitors and other companies to support local businesses in the longer term.
Fintech Miconex, like for the other Scottish local authority regions, manages the gift cards.
Miconex Managing Director Colin Munro said: “We are confident that the programme will be worth many millions of pounds more than the value of the cards themselves as they encourage people to show greater support for the businesses in their community.”
There is no application process for the scheme as households which received Council Tax Reduction as of June 1st 2022, should have automatically received their gift card.
