Co-op takes up gift cards initiatives as Suresite Group and ShopMate team up over fuel cards
THE Co-op has joined the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card and Town & City Gift Card schemes, while forecourts specialist Suresite Group is working with EPOS supplier ShopMate to create a new fuel cards solution.
Convenience retailer Co-op joins a blend of national retailers and local independent businesses who accept the gift cards, with shoppers simply swiping the cards at the till in participating stores.
Kate McCrae Graham, Co-op operations director, said: “Co-op stores operate in more than 300 towns, villages and cities across Scotland – working to form part of the fabric of community life, while creating jobs and supporting local suppliers.
“We are pleased to put our name to the cards that are designed to support local high streets and economies.”
Kimberley Guthrie, interim chief officer at Scotland’s Towns Partnership, said: “The addition of the Co-op is fantastic. The greater the number of places in which people can spend, the greater the reasons are for people to spend more time in their community, supporting an even wider range of local businesses.”
Miconex boss Colin Munro added: “What makes these local gift cards unique – and sets them apart from other gift cards – is the blend of national retailers and local independents who all operate in our local communities, giving people ultimate local choice in one gift card.”
Meanwhile, Suresite Group has teamed up with ShopMate to create an integrated fuel card and payment processing solution for petrol stations and c-stores across the UK.
Retailers can now offer their customers a more convenient way to pay using fuel cards.
The partnership gives retailers the added bonus of processing their payments from just 24 hours – improving cashflow and freeing up valuable resource.
The integration also cuts both processing time and the risk of keying errors – linking fuel pumps to ShopMate EPOS and through to the Suresite terminal.
Other benefits of the integration are said to include quick, simple and secure payments, competitive payment processing fees and a 24/7 customer service.
Brian Eagle-Brown, ShopMate managing director, said: “Our partnership with the Suresite Group is a major development within integrated fuel card and payment processing for forecourts and the convenience sector.”
Suresite Group sales & commercial director Nick Horne added: “Our reliable and cost-effective Orion device works in perfect sync with ShopMate EPOS to provide customers and businesses with a seamless experience.”
