giff gaff donates 250 smartphones to the Big Issue vendors to enable cashless transactions

Telefonica MVNO, giffgaff is providing street newspaper the Big Issue with 250 refurbished smart phones which will be given to new sellers to enable them to generate cashless sales.

 This is Big Issue’s first partnership with a mobile network, and the first time that Big Issue sellers have smartphones with NFC technology, The Giff Gaff supplied-phones will replace handset and card reader combinations

 Giff gaff says Big Issue resellers sold more magazines when they were able to do cashless transactions adding up to £520 per year in additional earnings. 

Russell Blackman, MD of the Big Issue, said: “The pre-Christmas period is always busy for the Big Issue, with more and more vendors signing up to sell the magazine, and sales dramatically increasing. Customers want to support vendors by buying the magazine, whilst also wanting it to be as quick and easy as possible. The Big Issue plans to work together with giffgaff to continue improving vendors’ confidence and competence with their new phones.”