Economy Minister Gordon Lyons today described the response to the huge early demand for the Spend Local card as formidable.
The portal for applications to the High Street Scheme opened yesterday. Over 400,000 applications have already been completed and around 840,000 links to apply for the Spend Local card have been issued.
The Minister said:
“As expected, demand for the Spend Local card is extremely high and our response has been equal to it. In just two days, almost a third of the 1.4 million people eligible to apply have been able to complete their application. This is a formidable response and a great confidence boost for our local businesses that are at the heart of this scheme.
“We knew that demand in the first days of the scheme would be high but our systems performed well in coping with the huge volume of traffic. There is still ground to cover but the applications portal is open up to 25 October and there is plenty of time for all those eligible to apply, receive and use their Spend Local card.
“The objective of the High Street Scheme is to support local businesses across Northern Ireland adversely affected by the drop in footfall due to the pandemic. That is why I would urge everyone in receipt of a Spend Local card to think local when spending their cards and support those shops, hospitality and other services most affected by the Covid-19 restrictions.”
The first Spend Local cards will issue to eligible applicants in the week commencing 4 October.
Notes to editors:
1. Caption: Sinead McCann, Director Danann Crafts Ltd in Lurgan pictured with Economy Minister Gordon Lyons during the Minister’s recent visit to the town to highlight the High Street Scheme.
2. Applicants can register for the Shop Local card on the nidirect website.
3. Key dates in the rollout of the High Street Scheme
- 27 September to 25 October - Applications portal will be open.
- Week commencing 4 October – First tranche of cards will issue to those who have successfully applied for the Spend Local pre-paid card.
- 11 October – Telephone service will open to support applications from people not able to access or use the online portal.
- 25 October – High Street Scheme online portal and telephone services will close.
- 25 October - the last qualifying date for those turning 18 to be eligible to apply for a Spend Local card.
- 30 November – High Street Scheme closes and the Spend Local pre-paid cards will cease to be valid.
4. From 27 of September to 25 of October, applicants can apply for the Spend Local card through the portal on NI Direct.
5. For verification purposes in order to reduce the risk of fraud and error, each applicant will be asked to provide:
- name;
- address;
- age;
- gender;
- disability status;
- national insurance number;
- email address; and
- telephone number.
6. Applicants will also have the option of including a driving licence number to enable verification. Once the applicant has completed the registration process their information will be checked against a number of government databases to verify their identity.
7. The Department is required under Section 75 to monitor the implementation of its policies which includes collecting data on age, sex and disability.
8. When an applicant receives their card, they will need to verify the card through a computer-operated phone system or text message and make the first payment using a pin, before they can start to use it for contactless payments.
9. The cards can be used in all participating businesses in Northern Ireland. They cannot be used online or for gambling or some financial and legal services.
10. The telephone support service will open on 11 October. The later opening of the telephone service has been implemented to encourage more people to apply online when the portal opens on 27 September and avoid using the phone line leaving it available for those who do not have access to, or are not able to use, the internet.
11. The High Street Scheme Spend Local pre-paid card will be able to be accepted by shops and businesses which can accept credit and debit cards for payment. It cannot be used to purchase goods or services online.
12. The Department’s Economic Recovery Action Plan is available at the Economic Recovery Action Plan - DfE website.
13. The Department may take photographs and videos at announcements and events to publicise its work. Photographs, interviews, videos or other recordings may be issued to media organisations for publicity purposes or used in promotional material, including in publications, newspapers, magazines, other print media, on television, radio and electronic media (including social media and the internet). Photographs and videos will also be stored on the Department’s internal records management system. The Department will keep the photographs and recordings for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which they have been obtained. The Department’s Privacy Policy is available on our website.
14. Follow us on Twitter @Economy_NI.
15. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk
16. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.