20 April 2023
Reminder to households to activate their Scotland Loves Local Aberdeenshire Gift Card by May 31st
More than 80% of the Scotland Loves Local Aberdeenshire Gift Cards issued to households to help with the challenges around the cost of living have now been activated.
That has unlocked a spend of around £920,000 for households, with £600,000 already having been spent in participating Aberdeenshire businesses.
However remaining recipients are being reminded that they only have until May 31 to activate their £100 pre-paid card.
Thereafter they will have 12 months from the date of activation to spend the full gift card balance.
There are now around 300 businesses signed up to accept the gift card across the region and cards can also be spent in all Live Life Aberdeenshire leisure venues.
Aberdeenshire Council has begun stocking gift cards for collection at its main office Service Points in Banff, Ellon, Huntly, Fraserburgh, Inverurie, Turriff, Peterhead and Stonehaven and the gift cards will shortly be available in various shops across the shire. Please see the Aberdeenshire Loves Local Facebook Page for further details.
The scheme - supported by Scottish Government funding – is a proven way of increasing footfall and spend for participating national and independent businesses across retail, leisure, hospitality and entertainment sectors and, most importantly, is aimed at helping businesses recovering from the impact of the Covid pandemic and dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, thereby securing their long-term success.
Town centres also benefit tremendously by locking in economic spend to aid recovery and to continue the support to keep residents eating, visiting and shopping local.
It works in the same way as a regular gift card - the only difference being that once you have picked up a card from a Service Point, that they require to be loaded with funds online by visiting www.loadthiscard.com
There is no limit to the number of transactions or shops the card can be used in, provided there are funds on the card.
The gift card can be used in any of the participating stores across Aberdeenshire and there are no costs for businesses to sign up to the scheme, with the transaction processed as a regular MasterCard debit transaction.
Households which received a gift card through the post in recent weeks must visit the https://aberdeenshire23.scotlandgiftslocal.com/ to activate their card.
You will be asked to insert your 16-digit gift card number with no spaces, followed by your 6-character long activation code from the letter sent you. The code is case sensitive and contains letters and numbers.
If you need help with activation please 03456 081208 then choose option 6 and we will be able to activate it for you. You will be asked to provide your national insurance number and date of birth to verify your identity.
In order to avoid fraudulent use of your gift card, do not disclose your activation code to anyone else.
You can view all participating Aberdeenshire businesses here: https://scotlandgiftslocal.com/product/aberdeenshire-gift-card/
For more information about the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card - including how to sign up your business – visit www.lovelocal.scot/giftcard or email aberdeenshireloveslocal@aberdeenshire.gov.uk