The Perth Gift Card scheme is going global as the city tech firm behind the project celebrates several international deals.
Miconex has won contracts to deliver gift card programmes in Canada, the USA and Ireland.
The company developed its first gift card programme in Perth in 2015 and now operates more than 40 schemes in the UK, including St Andrews, Crieff, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
They are designed to encourage people to spend local as balances on local gift cards can only be used in the local community.
In partnership with international payments tech firm EML Payments, Miconex has secured several international deals.
Managing director Colin Munro said his ambition was to provide hundreds of programmes in North America.
He said: “Since the pandemic, there has been increased interest in tools that can benefit business communities.
“The model we have in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland is replicable to different territories, and our association with EML makes us particularly well placed to serve markets across Europe and North America. Miconex delivers the client interface, whilst EML provides the technology.
“We’re taking the tried and tested infrastructure of our Town and City Gift Card programmes and adapting it to the needs of the specific country or marketplace.
“Miconex Inc was set up in June to cater for the North American market and we’ll set up an Irish subsidiary to support our new Drogheda programme, enabling us to trade into the Eurozone.”
“In the US, our ambition is to provide hundreds more programmes over the next three years through our partnerships with downtowns, and our ongoing association with EML, locking in millions of dollars in sales for local businesses.”
In Canada, the Perth firm is working with Food Island Partnership to deliver Canada’s Food Island, a gift card programme for Prince Edward Island, located off the east coast of Canada, which launched last week.
In North America, Miconex is delivering a downtown gift card concept for Downtown Lynchburg in Virginia, Downtown Billings in Montana and Cordova, Alaska where federal funds will be dispersed to the local population.
Miconex is also introducing Ireland to its portfolio of countries with a gift card scheme in Drogheda in County Louth.
In Scotland, the tech firm introduced a new gift card programme in East Ayrshire during lockdown, with additional programmes for Falkirk and Perthshire in development.
Mr Munro said the increased interest in shopping local, alongside initiatives such as the Scottish Government-backed Scotland Loves Local campaign have benefitted the tech firm.
He added: “We are fortunate to be in a sector that people are investing in. When we set up Miconex, our mission was always connecting business communities with local customers, but the pandemic has placed this mission into the spotlight with the need to drive local spend.
“It’s not possible for us as a business to control the macro forces that impact upon us.
“Our focus has been removing barriers for towns and cities to work with us and ultimately creating a service that works for our clients and for the businesses we serve.”
