Uptown Saint John’s popular Uptown Dollars program is getting a modern makeover that will benefit both users and merchants.
Uptown Dollars is moving to a gift card system with a revamped setup that will help speed up payments back to the local businesses aligned with the program.
The Uptown Saint John Business Improvement Association brought The Uptown Saint John Gift Card forward as an idea to make life easier for Uptown visitors and businesses.
Introduced in 2018 to help independent small businesses, Uptown Dollars can be used just like cash at more than 100 retailers in the area, including stores, boutiques, restaurants, accommodations, theatres, or services. The introduction of a gift card means the dollars can now be used just like a debit card.
Nancy Tissington, the executive director at Uptown Saint John, says the new gift cards don’t mean people who already has existing uptown paper dollars are out of luck.
“Both the paper money and gift card program do not have an expiration date,” said Tissington. She added that provincial law forbids both from having an expiry date.
A win-win for shoppers and merchants
Tissington says Uptown Saint John is drawing on the success of Uptown Dollars with the new gift card, which means shoppers familiar with the paper Uptown Dollars will have less to carry around.
“People have one gift card instead of carrying lots of paper money and can spend as they like at participating merchants Uptown, with the balance automatically updated,” she said.
It is a welcome change for Tissington. She said Uptown Dollars have always been embraced by the public and merchants but were also a labour-intensive system.
“Merchants had to bring the Uptown Dollars in for payment and it’s difficult for a business owner to find the time to do that,” Tissington said. “With the new Uptown Saint John gift card, they get paid quickly.”
As of Monday, approximately 90 participants had signed on and are ready to accept the cards. Tissington pointed out all the funds will stay in the local economy.
“The businesses receive their funds directly into their bank accounts–no waiting to exchange with our office–it has streamlined the process,” she said.
There’s also a dashboard that allows Uptown Saint John to see where the funds are being used.
“Measuring the success of our membership dollars through these types of initiatives is always important to the board of directors,” she said.
According to Tissington, Uptown Saint John Inc. was able to move from paper dollars to the gift card thanks to an ACOA grant that was accessed through the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce.
Assisting with the technology for the Uptown Saint John Gift Card is fintech company Miconex, in association with international payments technology solutions provider EML Payments.
Miconex already operates its downtown gift card concept in Canada and the US, as well as more than 100 town and city gift card programs in the UK and Ireland.
Cards sell out at initial sale
Tissington said since launching the plastic gift card last week, at 20 percent off, Uptown Saint John sold $25,000 worth within hours and sold out of physical stock.
“We have two sales a year–spring and fall. However, you can buy the cards anytime for face value on our website throughout the year,” she said.
Since the sale last week, Tissington said several corporations have contacted Uptown Saint John to purchase the cards to give as rewards or incentives for employees.
The cards are offered in $50 increments, up to $500.
In addition to buying the cards online, The Uptown Saint John Gift Card can also be picked up in person from the Uptown Saint John Business Improvement Association office, located at 17 Canterbury Street.
Tyler Mclean is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
