Primark and M&S among big names to sign up to Scottish local gift card scheme

Scottish-based footwear chain Schuh is another major brand to have agreed to accept the new Scotland Loves Local cards.

Each has signed up all of its Scottish stores as merchants, meaning that customers will be able to spend the gift cards there as they become available locally.

Support from the retail giants is seen as a major boost for the scheme, in tandem with that of independent community retailers who are also registering as merchants.

Work is being led by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) as part of the Scotland Loves Local campaign.

STP chief officer Phil Prentice said: “To secure such high-profile support is a significant show of confidence in the Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards and their ability to become a major part of local economies across the country.

“It also shows the strength of commitment that these stores - and others - have for the communities in which they operate, creating another way in which local people can spend with them.

“The Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards will allow people to enjoy the very best their area has to offer, choosing local first.”

Each card can only be spent in the region for which it is branded. STP is working with Perth-based fintech Miconex, which already operates gift card programmes in the UK, Ireland and North America, to deliver the scheme.

Miconex managing director Colin Munro said: “By working together we can create an unbeatable customer proposition and start to divert more and more money back into Scottish businesses.”

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