General FAQs
The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card is a new way of ensuring that money in your community stays local for longer in every region across Scotland. Like any other gift card, you can choose the amount of money to load on to the card. The only difference with this is that it can only be spent within the recipient’s own region – giving them an opportunity to enjoy and support the businesses around them.
Like any other gift card. It can be spent in businesses in your area which sign up to be part of the programme. These businesses can be of any size or type – they simply need to have a physical presence in the region. They cannot be used with online-only businesses.
Gift Cards feature a 16 digit MasterCard Number, CVV and Expiry date allowing them to be used online at participating online retailers, as long as that retailer has a physical ‘bricks and mortar’ presence in the local authority area.
Yes. The technology we use to run the card system means that it operates on a “closed loop”, meaning the cards are set up only to be used inside the regions for which they are branded.
Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase
As the cards use the existing MasterCard infrastructure, Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards can be accepted by independent businesses and national retailers alike, but they need to have a physical presence in the local authority area and be making a contribution to the local economy. Local Gift Cards can also be used online, but only where that business also has a “bricks and mortar” physical presence within that local authority area.
There are no additional costs for customers.
On the Gift Card platform, you can purchase cards, check balances, and discover where to spend the gift card by checking the list of participating businesses.
Very. The Gift Card program utilises existing payments infrastructure using the MasterCard Network. Funds are secured in a ring-fenced FCA compliant wallet.
The Gift Card is a coated 100% paper-based card that provides a recyclable, environmentally friendly alternative to a traditional plastic gift card.
The Gift Card is a mechanism through which the Scotland Loves Local campaign seeks to realise its objectives in a more direct, material fashion. It is more than just a ‘nice extra’, but a core tool to lock spend into local economies and support local businesses.
The Scotland Loves Local Gift card is administered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership in partnership with Miconex.
Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) is the voice of the country’s towns – championing their place at the heart of the nation and advocating their pivotal part in a stronger, more sustainable future. Find out more at scotlandstowns.org
Merchant FAQs
A Scotland Loves Local Gift Card is a prepaid Private Label MasterCard. The Card does not feature Chip and Pin and is accepted by swiping the card through the magstripe reader on your card terminal or via a Card Holder Not Present Transaction.
There are no additional costs to accept The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card, it’s charged at the same rate as a normal MasterCard Debit Card transaction.
As the payment is a MasterCard transaction, you’ll receive the funds from your acquirer for the transaction as per your Merchant Acquirer Agreement.
In order to accept the Gift Card, you will need to process a declined transaction through your card terminal. This enables us to pick up your Merchant ID and add it to a list of approved Merchant IDs. You do not need to install any software or additional hardware to accept the Gift Card. Complete your registration at: lovelocal.scot/giftcard.
The Gift Card is a prepaid Mastercard and payments are received via your existing merchant services agreement.
Taking payments with The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card is as simple as taking any other card payment. Payments are received via your existing merchant services agreement.
Process as a Debit MasterCard transaction, as follows:
Card machine with swipe facility
If you have a card machine with a swipe facility, swipe the customer’s Scotland Loves Local Gift Card through the machine and the sales value will be deducted from the card balance. The cards can be used for full payment or split payments.
Card machine without a swipe facility
Without a swipe facility, the gift card payment can be completed by entering the card number, expiry and CVV (The CVV Security Code is above the QR code on the reverse of the card) on your terminal to complete the sale, as you would when taking a payment over the phone.
Some payment systems, such as Sumup, allow you to send a link to the customer’s phone to transact an online payment. Details on this can be found here: iZettle / SumUp
Anyone that can accept MasterCard, can register to the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card programme, regardless of the provider they use. If the merchant does not have a PDQ machine, but accepts payments via a website- they should
- Purchase an item from their website
- Pay for the item using the programme set up card details i.e. The card details listed on the Scotland Loves Local website under Step 1.
The transaction will then decline.
- Then the merchant must then complete Stage 2 of the registration process, the registration form listed on the Scotland Loves Local website.
- The merchant will then receive an email and be asked to confirm their participation by signing the acceptance agreement.
Following the above actions will register the business to the Scotland Loves Local programme.
Split payments are possible between gift cards and another form of payment. Just follow these steps:
- Find out the balance on the card (detailed below)
- Follow your store’s normal process for split payments for your till If the customer is paying online and the value of the item is greater than that of the gift card then they will not be able to use the gift card for that purchase if the merchant does not allow two payment types to be taken.
Your business will appear on the site after a maximum of 5 working days – the process can often be as quick as 24 hours!
The instructions on how to check the balance on the gift card are written on the reverse of the card.
– The customers can call the balance enquiry number (0121 268 3210) – Online at www.getmybalance.com
– scan the QR code to check their balance.
You can check the balance by running a 1p transaction through the till using the gift card.
This will not be taken off the customer’s card but will be credited to your merchant account.
You will need to:
- Run a 1p transaction through your till using the gift card as the means of payment • On the receipt that prints out, the authorisation code will show the balance
- An X will usually be used to show a decimal point, so an authorisation code on the receipt of 001X45 would show funds of £1.45 left on the card
If there are insufficient funds on the gift cards in relation to the value being charged then the card will decline.
If the available balance on the gift card is less than the value of the purchase, you can split the payment and take payment of the remainder via another method.
The CVV Security Code is above the QR code on the reverse of the card
Yes. Process a refund in the same way you would for any Mastercard Credit or Debit Card.
If it’s only the terminal that has changed and the Merchant ID has remained the same then no action is required.
If the Merchant ID has changed we’ll need to re-register your terminal using the following registration link: lovelocal.scot/giftcard.
The customer can check this online at https://townandcitygiftcards.com/where-to-spend/
If the Gift Card has declined, please contact the Merchant Support Line: UK: +44 (0) 121 268 3210
Please note EML opening hours:
Mon – Wed: 9am – 6pm
Thurs – Sat: 9am – 9pm
Sun: 10am – 6pm
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