Scotland Loves Local gift cards worth £105 each have started arriving at 85,000 households across Glasgow today.
The gift cards have been issued by Glasgow City Council to help eligible, low-income households cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
At the same time, the scheme should provide a multi-million pound injection into the local economy, with the gift cards only redeemable with city businesses registered to accept them.
Councillor Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “This much-needed economic stimulus will give extra spending power to lower-income households across the city at a time when they are facing the worst financial pressure in decades - and with all the signs that those strains are likely to increase.
“But they have a double benefit for communities across Glasgow as they provide a real boost to local businesses in our high streets as they continue to recover from the pandemic.
“There’s undoubtedly a longer-term benefit for Glaswegians to shop locally - and for more businesses to sign up to accept the gift cards as payment.”
The cards have been posted out to eligible households, with arrivals expected to be complete in the coming days.
Every household receiving a gift card has already been sent a unique activation code which they will need to use their card.
The city’s gift card scheme is the UK’s biggest.
More than 700 businesses - including all kinds of shops, places to eat, salons and visitor attractions - have already signed up to accept the gift cards.
While the card values alone will deliver a one-off injection of more than £8m into city firms, it is hoped that the council disbursement programme will encourage residents, visitors, other local companies and organisations to support city businesses in the longer term.
The gift card is an extension of the Scotland Loves Local campaign, the drive led by Scotland’s Towns Partnership’s (STP) for people to help their communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic by supporting local businesses.
STP chief officer Phil Prentice said: “This is fantastic use of the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card, helping some of the most vulnerable people in Glasgow, while channelling millions of pounds back into local businesses.
“It has never been more important to choose local and support the businesses in your area.”
Perth-based fintech firm Miconex is administering and delivering the gift cards, as it is each of the individual gift card programmes available in Scotland’s 32 local authority regions.
Managing director Colin Munro said: “Our experience of gift card programmes across the UK and abroad shows that they have the power to unlock far more money for the local economy than the amount directly loaded on to them as people are encouraged to spend more time - and money - in their home area.”
Funding for the council disbursement project has come via a £9.45m Covid Economic Recovery Funding package awarded to the council by the Scottish Government.
There is no application process for the gift cards distributed by the council. Households which were in receipt of Council Tax Reduction as of 1 June will automatically receive their free gift card.
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