East Dunbartonshire Gift Card

It is a gift card that can be used in exchange for goods, services and experiences at participating businesses in East Dunbartonshire. It’s a way of ensuring that money in our communities stays local for longer. Like any other gift card, you can choose the amount of money to load onto the card. The only difference with this is that it can only be spent within East Dunbartonshire – giving people an opportunity to enjoy and support the businesses around them.

The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card programme – which is operating in a range of regions – is being delivered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP), the organisation spearheading the Scotland Loves Local campaign nationally, alongside Miconex. It is supported by East Dunbartonshire Council.

The East Dunbartonshire Gift Card can be spent in local businesses which sign up to be part of the programme. 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.

Yes. The technology used to run the card system means that it operates on a “closed loop”, so the East Dunbartonshire Gift Card is set up only to be used inside East Dunbartonshire.

Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.

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. A list of all businesses that accept the East Dunbartonshire gift card can be found online at the Town and City Gift Card website 

There are no additional costs for customers.

The instructions on how to check the balance on the gift card are written on the reverse of the card. Customers can call the balance enquiry number on the reverse of their card, check online at the Get My Balance website or scan the QR code to check their balance.

Funds can be added to empty gift cards via the Load This Card website.

Blank cards are available from:

• Bishopbriggs Community Hub - 170 Kirkintilloch Road, Bishopbriggs, G64 2LX
• Kirkintilloch Community Hub - 2-4 West High Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1AD
• Lennoxtown Community Hub - 46 Main Street, Lennoxtown, G66 7JJ
• Reid's of Milngavie - 15 Main Street, Milngavie, G62 6BJ.

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.

Visit the East Dunbartonshire Gift Card website.

Blank cards are available from:

• Bishopbriggs Community Hub - 170 Kirkintilloch Road, Bishopbriggs, G64 2LX
• Kirkintilloch Community Hub - 2-4 West High Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1AD
• Lennoxtown Community Hub - 46 Main Street, Lennoxtown, G66 7JJ
• Reid's of Milngavie - 15 Main Street, Milngavie, G62 6BJ.

Funds can be added to empty gift cards via the Load This Card website.

For more information on the gift card, check out more extensive FAQs on the Scotland Loves Local website

There are no additional costs to accept the gift cards. As the payment is a Mastercard transaction, you’ll receive the funds from your acquirer for the transaction as per your Merchant Acquirer Agreement. This is your agreement with the company that provides your card terminal.

Businesses can sign up to accept the gift card by completing the online form and doing a test transaction.

Visit the gift card website for more information.

Taking payments with a Scotland Loves Local Gift Card is as simple as taking any other card payment. Process as a debit Mastercard transaction by either swiping the card or 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. For more information, visit the iZettle website and visit the SumUp website. The cards can be used for full payment or split payments.

The instructions on how to check the balance on the gift card are written on the reverse of the  card. Customers can call the balance enquiry number on the reverse of their card, check online via the Get My Balance website or scan the QR code to check their balance.

You can check the balance by processing a 1p transaction through your payment processor and run the gift card for payment. This will not be taken off the customer’s card, but will be credited on 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 be declined. 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. If you cannot process a split payment please make sure that the transaction value is equal to or less than the value on the card.

The pin code will be the last four digits of the long card number which you can input into the terminal to continue the payment process.

If it’s only the terminal that has changed and the Merchant ID has remained the same then no action is required. If you are unsure if your Merchant ID has changed then please re-register your terminal. If the Merchant ID has changed we’ll need to re-register your terminal - visit the Miconex website for information

If the gift card has declined, please contact the Merchant Support Line - 0121 268 3210.

For more information on the gift card, check out more extensive FAQs on the Scotland Loves Local website.