The Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership (SCCDP) has upgraded its popular Chamber Bucks system for a high-tech Gift Card, as part of efforts to keep dollars local and make spending easier in the county.
The new Seward County Gift Card can be loaded with $5-$500 and spent at over 100 Chamber member businesses in the county, including retail stores, coffee shops, restaurants, attractions, and services.
Jonathan Jank, President and CEO of SCCDP, commented: “Chamber Bucks has been very successful, especially with large employers using the checks for their staff rewards and incentives through the year. Through Chamber Bucks, we’ve generated approximately $100,000 each year for our county businesses. We are excited to implement a new Gift Card program, which offers ease of use for customers and businesses.”
Jonathan adds: “The new Seward County Gift Card can be used just like a debit card, with the purchase amount automatically deducted from the balance of the card. This makes the Gift Card easy to use for both small and large purchases, without the need to worry about change being given from a check. We believe this will spread out the benefit of the Gift Card to even more businesses, and make the Gift Card both user friendly and attractive for businesses and customers alike.”
“Shop local is as important as ever, small businesses from all sectors need our support. That’s what the new Seward County Gift Card offers,” said Jonathan. “Thanks to the technology behind the Gift Card, we’ll be able to track where the Gift Cards are being spent, providing valuable insights for businesses and employers. This will help us to grow our shop local program here in Seward County.”
One of the businesses which accepts the new Seward County Gift Card is Bottle Rocket Brewing Co.
“The Chamber Bucks program has positively impacted us because it provides a way for customers to keep dollars local and help small businesses. Many of these purchased Chamber Bucks are gifts to family and friends, and since we are a local craft brewery these Bucks provide a way to keep dollars local,” said Gerald Homp, Bottle Rocket Brewing Founder and President. “The new Gift Card program will allow for a much easier transaction where we don’t have to personally go to the bank and make a hard paper check deposit. The less we have to touch the better. The new Gift Card program creates an electronic transaction which in turn makes it easier for us to run our business. We are also hoping that with this new type of Gift Card the dollar amounts will be larger and provide us, and other businesses, the chance to keep dollars local.”
Another business which is part of the new Seward County Gift Card is The Udder Store.
“We found that Chamber Bucks were hard for our customers to use. I like the idea of being able to load an amount of my choosing on the Gift Card and spend it wherever, easier,” said Richard O’Hare, co-owner of The Udder Store. “Chamber Bucks were good, but we are expecting the Gift Cards to be better and more efficient for our business.”
The Seward County Gift Card is part of the Downtown Gift Card concept from payments provider Miconex in association with payments technology solutions provider EML Payments. Downtown Gift Card systems run across the US, in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, as well as across Canada, the UK, and Ireland. The Seward County Gift Card will be the first of its kind in Nebraska.
The Seward County Gift Card is available to buy in person at the SCCDP office, 616 Bradford, Seward, NE 68434 or online with delivery direct to the recipient.
For questions or bulk orders, please contact hello@cultivatesewardcounty.com. Card is issued by MetaBank®, N.A., Member FDIC. Funds do not expire, non-reloadable and no cash access. For Cardholder Agreement or Customer Service: www.getmybalance.com or 1.833.558.1088.