High Street voucher applications to open in September

Thursday, 29 July 2021 12:22

By Q Radio News

The executive's High Street voucher scheme will open for applications in September.

The contract for the delivery of the £145 million initiative has been awarded to Prepaid Financial Services.

Everyone aged 18 and over will receive a pre-paid card worth £100 to spend locally.

The economy minister has revealed the ‘Spend Local’ logo which will feature on each of the cards.

The Stormont Executive’s High Street voucher scheme is to go live in September according to the Economy minister Gordon Lyons pic.twitter.com/GYgKUqtupo
— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) July 29, 2021

Speaking during a visit to businesses in Carrickfergus, Gordon Lyons said: “After a robust procurement process, I am pleased to announce that the contract for the High Street Scheme has been awarded to PFS.

“This scheme is a key element of my Department’s Economic Recovery Action Plan and will give a very welcome boost to our high streets which were hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. This uplift is what our local businesses need and deserve.

“It will mean up to 1.4 million people will have an extra £100 each to spend on our high streets rather than online. This will help bring many more customers back through the doors of local retail, hospitality and other sectors.

“I look forward to seeing the benefits this scheme will bring to the wide range of businesses situated in the heart of towns, villages and cities across Northern Ireland.”

PFS is a payments technology company which helps governments worldwide get money quickly into the hands of people who need it the most.

Most recently, citizens in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Italy and Finland have been assisted with innovative payment solutions across 562 separate initiatives.

Lee Britton, CEO Europe at PFS, said: ''We are delighted to have been awarded this contract. Our award-winning economic stimulus product trusted by governments worldwide will help to give a huge financial boost to the Northern Ireland economy.”