Miconex is collaborating with CBScity to further the shop local ethos around the world.
Fintech Miconex, who have over 200 programmes globally through its Town & City Gift Card and Downtown Gift Card brands, is partnering with CBScity who provide local gift cards for 70 places in Sweden.
CBScity will leverage Miconex technology, including capabilities for mobile payments and place-based digital gift cards facilitated by their Love Local app, to enhance the accessibility of its local gift cards. Currently, CBScity’s physical gift cards are available to buy in person only, from kiosks in Swedish towns and cities, for spending in person.
The Swedish firm sold over 500,000 cards in 2022 with an average load value of 500 Swedish kroner, around £35. Miconex delivered over £28million of local spend globally in 2022.
Miconex works alongside business improvement districts and areas (BIDs and BIAs), local authorities, governments, organisations and chambers to deliver its local gift cards, locking spend into local communities around the world.
In Sweden, CBScity’s customers are the place based associations with boards membered by representatives from local businesses, local authorities and real estate owners. Activities undertaken by the associations include Purple Flag, with most consumer focused businesses part of the association.
A similarity between Miconex’s local gift cards and those offered by CBScity is the blend of national brands and local independent businesses available through one gift card, giving customers ultimate local choice.
Both firms also have a focus on corporate sales with Miconex picking up the Best Gift Card Supplier award at the 2023 Incentive Awards in partnership with IMA Europe, in recognition of its efforts to encourage organisations to think local with their rewards and incentives. Around 40% of CBScity’s business is dedicated to the corporate market.
Håkan Hult is the founder of CBScity and said the collaboration with Miconex will bring benefits for both organisations:
“There is a strong appetite from our customers for digital cards and Love Local is a sentiment that is understood in Sweden. Collaborating with Miconex makes perfect sense given the synergies between our organisations.
“Everyone wants their city businesses to be there for them but the reality is that we often don’t live as locally as we could. When we talk to corporate organisations about local gift cards, they love the idea; the ability to give employees a local reward and keep the money local. Our partnership with Miconex will enable us to deliver enhanced service to our customers and we will offer Miconex the benefit of our expertise with physical kiosks too. Working together, we can be greater than the sum of our parts.”
Alongside physical and digital online sales through its e-commerce platforms, Miconex facilitates permanent and temporary local sales points for its local gift card programmes, giving places an option for in-person sales. Payments can be processed via the local sales point’s point of sale terminal or through a Miconex provided terminal. There is also an option for places to purchase or lease branded kiosks to sell their gift card.
Colin Munro, managing director of Miconex said: “The partnership with CBScity is born of a joint passion for local. We’ve been in discussions for a number of years now about how we can work together for the benefit of consumers and organisations, making supporting local easy and attractive, and we’re pleased to be able to move that partnership forwards today.
“We know that availability is key in the gift card purchasing decision with 1 in 3 people choosing gifts based on how quickly they can get them. By working together, we can utilise our joint expertise across different sales channels for the benefit of towns and cities around the world.”