The deadline to spend Northern Ireland’s £100 (€117.50) high street voucher has been extended by two weeks.
The pre-paid Spend Local cards were due to expire on November 30th, but the North's Minister for the Economy, Gordon Lyons, said on Tuesday they would now be valid until December 14th.
He told the Stormont Assembly not all cards have been dispatched and the change was necessary in order to give all applicants a “fair timescale” of four weeks to spend their credit.
The pre-paid Spend Local card scheme, which entitles everyone aged 18 and above in Northern Ireland to £100 to spend in shops in the North, is aimed at encouraging people back to high streets and supporting local businesses following the Covid-19 pandemic.
More than 1.43 million people applied for the scheme and more than one million cards have been sent out so far.
Mr Lyons said that, by the end of this week, cards will have been dispatched to at least 95 per cent of applicants who have had their identity verified, and all those who have been verified will receive their cards by the middle of next week.
He told the Assembly 160,000 people whose personal details could not be verified by databases had applied for the scheme, but none of their applications had been rejected.
All had been given the opportunity to submit evidence of their eligibility, he said, adding that he expected about 98 per cent of them would have their applications approved.
The minister said the cards had so far brought more than £26.5 million into the local economy “and while it is still early days, I think it is fair to say the process of recovery on our high streets is now under way”.
Urging people to “please, please spend local” in order to boost Northern Ireland’s economy, he said “the journey to recovery for retail, hospitality and service sector has just begun and, as more and more people receive their Spend Local cards through their letterboxes daily, I would urge them to activate it as soon as they get it and then spend every single last penny on it”.
