Gift card program to encourage local spending

A new local gift card scheme encouraging people to shop locally will be rolled out across the Moreton Bay Region from July.

Six of the region’s seven chambers of commerce will each receive a $10,000 Community Operational Support Grant from Council to implement the Moreton Money scheme.

Those that expressed interest in taking part in the first phase of the program were the Greater Caboolture Chamber of Commerce, North Lakes Chamber of Commerce, Pine Rivers Chamber of Commerce, Redcliffe Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Samford and Districts Chamber of Commerce and The Hills and Districts Chamber of Commerce.

Mayor Peter Flannery said Moreton Money was designed to put money back into local businesses and keep it within the region.

“(It is) also delivering and building that relationship with council and commerce groups,” he said.

“It’s not only good for local businesses, it’s good for the local economy.”

Boosting business

Moreton Bay Regional Council chief economic development officer Paul Martins told yesterday’s Council meeting the local spending program, which will run for three years, aims to boost businesses struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak and the February floods.

During February’s severe weather 120 business premises in the region were damaged or lost, with more than 200 jobs lost as a direct result.

In February and March a number of local chambers of commerce expressed interest in being involved in a region-wide rollout of a Moreton Money style gift card.

But they told Council that to take part they would need support to cover the costs of registering with Why Leave Town, which has delivered the program across more than 75 communities in the past 10 years, with more than 165,000 gift cards sold.

Keeping it local

A report from Council officers found it would be more cost effective for chambers of commerce to implement the Moreton Money gift card program with Council funding, than for Council to co-ordinate and administer the program directly.

Moreton Money will include a “closed loop” EFTPOS gift card that can only be used at participating businesses in the Moreton Bay Region.

Mr Martins said it would be similar to gift cards that could only be used at outlets within Westfield shopping centres.

He said Moreton Money would give local chambers of commerce the opportunity to boost membership, with shops at which the gift cards could be used having to be a member.

Read more local news here.