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Scotland Loves Local – Aberdeen Gift Card

Aberdeen City Council have been awarded £2.85 million from the Local Authority Covid Economic Recovery Fund, administered by the Scottish Government. The City Growth and Resources Committee agreed on 21 June 2022 that £1.9 million will be allocated towards the Aberdeen Gift Card scheme to relieve hardship and boost local economy, as we recover from the pandemic. This project will support low-income households by circulating pre-paid gift cards to be spent at local businesses, to provide immediate financial relief.

Eligible households

Data from the Council’s tax system was used to identify households entitled to Council Tax Reduction (CTR) as of 21 June who would be eligible to receive the Scotland Loves Local Aberdeen Gift Card. This will be households who are either surviving on benefits or low paid work and who have less than £16,000 capital or savings. The proposed funding will allow a gift card credited with £125 to be issued to eligible households totalling a value of £1,924,440.

Activation Process

You should receive your first letter from 30 November onwards. This will be your activation code, please keep this safe until your card arrives as you will need the information to activate your gift card. Your second letter will contain your gift card and instructions on how to activate it.

Step 1 – Your activation code will be sent to you by letter from 30 November.

Step 2 – To activate your card, please: 

  • Visit www.aberdeen22.scotlandgiftslocal.com
  • Insert your 16 digit card number and unique 6 character activation code provided in initial letter, to activate your gift card; or
  • Scan the QR code on the reverse of your card 

Watch this short video for help activating your gift card.

 

Step 3 – Once you have activated your Scotland Loves Local Aberdeen Gift Card, you will be able to spend it at any participating business across the city. Visit the link below to see the full list of businesses. 

www.aberdeen22.scotlandgiftslocal.com

You have until 31 March 2023 to activate your gift card. Once activated, your gift card will be valid for a period of 12 months. 

Please note that if you lose your card once activated, we are unable to replace it if lost/stolen. 

How to use the Scotland Loves Local Aberdeen gift card

  • Once activated your gift card must be used within 12 months.
  • There are over 200 businesses in Aberdeen currently registered to accept the gift card. It can be used to purchase a wide range of goods and services in the city centre.

See the full list of shops and businesses that accept the Scotland Loves Local Aberdeen gift card.

If you still have questions, please check our frequently asked questions below.

Those eligible to receive a £125 Scotland Loves Local Aberdeen Gift Card have been identified from the council’s tax system as households entitled to council tax reduction as of 21 June, and will be households who are either surviving on benefits or low paid work, and who have less than £16,000 capital or savings. This was agreed by the City Growth and Resources Committee on 21st June 2022.

Anyone receiving a single person discount, or who are exempt from paying council tax are not eligible.

If on 21st June 2022 you were not a recipient of Council Tax Reduction (CTR), you are not eligible for a gift card.

CTR can be backdated so for those customers who are waiting to hear the outcome of your application for CTR you may need to wait a bit longer for your gift card. If you have not received your gift card by 31 January 2023 and you were eligible for CTR on 21st June 2022 then please contact the Aberdeen City Council Support Line on 0800 0304 713

If you haven’t received your card by 7 January, please contact Aberdeen City Council Support Line on 0800 0304 713.

Please call the Aberdeen City Council Support Line on 0800 0304 713 Monday to Friday between 9am – 5pm

If your card is damaged, businesses will still be able to key in the card details at the point of sale so that the gift card can be redeemed.

If your card has not been activated, please contact the Support Line on 0800 0304 713 Monday to Friday between 9am – 5pm and we can reissue the card. Unfortunately, if your card has already been activated, we are unable to issue a new one.

Unfortunately, if you lose your card after it is activated, we will not be able to replace the card.

Please call the Aberdeen City Council Support Line on 0800 0304 713 Monday to Friday between 9am – 5pm.

The Scotland Loves Local campaign encourages people in Scotland to think local first and support businesses on their local high streets boosting the economic fightback from Covid-19. The Scotland Loves Local Aberdeen Gift Card can be seen as a local currency, allowing people to spend their Gift Cards in their favourite local businesses, or on household essentials, in a way that keeps spending local for longer, benefitting the local economy in the process.

The Scotland Loves Local campaign is a national initiative designed to encourage all those who live in Scotland to think local first and support their high streets to boost the economic fightback from Covid-19 and to build resilient local economies and communities. The campaign is spearheaded by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP), the national body for Scotland’s towns and all those who work to support the country’s towns and city districts. STP provides a hub to help people learn, connect, find practical support and advice, and share good practice and knowledge. The organisation’s deep-rooted knowledge of the towns landscape and extensive range of services supports the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to secure a positive future for Scotland’s towns.

No. It works the same as any other gift card.

No. It works the same as any other gift card and you can spend the £125 over multiple transactions with different businesses that are registered with the Scotland Loves Local Scheme. You can check the remaining balance on your gift card by visiting www.getmybalance.com.

Yes. Your Aberdeen Gift Card can only be redeemed in the Aberdeen City Council area with businesses that are registered to receive payments via the gift card. You can find out where those businesses are at https://scotlandgiftslocal.com/product/aberdeen-gift-card/.

Please email supportsllgc@mi-cnx.com advising of the business details and a customer service representative will contact the merchant. 

 

 

Please call 0121 268 3210 and a customer service representative will be able to assist the merchant. 

Yes. As long as the merchant that you are spending your gift card with has a ‘bricks and mortar’ presence in Aberdeen, and is registered to receive payments via the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card, you can redeem your gift card via its online store.

The instructions for how you can check the balance of your gift card are written on the reverse of the card. You can:

Very. The Gift Card programme utilises payments infrastructure using the Mastercard Network. Funds are secured in a ring-fenced FCA compliant wallet. Once the Gift Card is activated it is the same as any other gift card and can be redeemed in any registered retailer.

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