Spend Local: Some cards will arrive after deadline

Many people are waiting anxiously for their post

Not all of the £100 High Street voucher cards will arrive before the scheme's deadline, the Department for Economy has acknowledged.

It said all cards for verified applicants had been dispatched and the majority were due to arrive on Friday and Saturday.

The scheme closes at midnight on Sunday.

There may be some "who will not receive their Spend Local Card before the scheme closes", the department said.

"After the scheme closes, the Department will take stock of the various issues people have faced and options for remedy," the department said, in a statement to BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra.

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said that the initiative had generated £131m for the local economy.

He urged those who still had small amounts remaining on their cards to spend them.

More than 1.4 million people had applied for the cards as of Wednesday, 15 December, by which point the department said 99% of cards had been delivered.

Mr Lyons also said that the card scheme had helped to increase the number of shoppers in Northern Ireland to their highest point so far compared to pre-pandemic levels.

What is the Spend Local scheme?

The £145m High Street voucher scheme was introduced by Stormont ministers to help bricks-and-mortar businesses recover from the disruption to trade caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The aim was to increase footfall in high streets, which have been badly affected by lockdowns, but the cards can be spent in a variety of businesses.

The pre-paid cards have been arriving through letterboxes since early October

How many people have applied for a Spend Local card?

Just over 1.436m applications have been received to date by Stormont's Department for Economy, which is responsible for running the voucher scheme.

At the outset, the department had estimated about 1.4m people would qualify under its rules.

When are the remaining cards expected to arrive?

On Sunday, the department said the vast majority of cards still to be delivered were expected to arrive with people on Friday and Saturday.

Ten thousand cards were sent out for delivery on Thursday.

It said the delay in dispatching some cards was due to a number of reasons including applicants submitting evidence late; errors in applications; late submissions and some applications identified as duplicates before being verified.

How much time were people given to spend their cards?

The High Street voucher scheme opened for applications on 27 September and saw huge demand in the early days of operation, with almost 500,000 requests on the first day.

The original cut-off date for spending the voucher had been 30 November, but that deadline was later extended to 19 December after problems administering some cards.

In total, the public as a whole were given just over 11 weeks to spend their voucher.

However, not everyone received their cards as quickly as had been expected and many are still waiting.

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has been promoting the voucher scheme in recent weeks

How much money has been spent using Spend Local cards?

On Friday, the Department for Economy said that more than £131m had been injected into the local economy by the initiative.

The economy minister added: "The Northern Ireland Retail Consortium and the UIster Bank have both credited the scheme with boosting our high streets."

How can I spend my £100 before the deadline?

Spend Local cards can be used to pay for goods and services at any business with a premises in Northern Ireland, as long as they have the equipment to accept card transactions.

However, the cards cannot be used for online shopping or to fund gambling.

They also cannot be used to withdraw cash or to settle fines such as parking tickets.

After receiving your voucher by post, you will be issued with a PIN code which you will need in order to you use your card for the first time. After that it can be used for contactless payments.

What will happen if I don't spend the voucher in time?

It is a matter of "use or lose it" as all Spend Local cards are due to expire on 19 December 2021 and cannot be used after this date.

The Department for the Economy said any unspent money remaining on cards after the deadline will return to its coffers.

It said it "encourages everyone to fully spend their card right up to the scheme closing date".

Is it now too late to apply for a £100 card?

Yes. The Department for the Economy stopped accepting new applications at midnight on 25 October, 2021.

Many applicants were also asked for extra documentation to verify their identity and the deadline for submitting this information was midnight on Friday, 12 November.