E-money start-up sQuidcard has struck a deal with the Scottish National Entitlement Card (NEC) programme and council authorities in Dundee to provide residents with pre-paid contactless cards.
The NEC programme is designed to offer Scots access to council facilities such as libraries, schools, taxis and leisure through a single card. The card can also be used on public transport as well as to access thousands of rewards and discounts.
Dundee City Council is a participant in the NEC programme and 38,000 cards are already in use in the city with more expected to be issued.
Following the Squid tie-up, users in Dundee will also be able to load the cards with money and make purchases of under £10 in retail stores by tapping them against specially equipped terminals.
Sid Bulloch, manager, NEC programme, says: "With our agreement with sQuid we have added a new dimension to our service, and we can expect to see more cards in the future. The addition of a simple, effective eMoney purse is really useful to citizens, young and old, enabling them to pay quickly and conveniently for small items."
Adam Smith, MD, sQuid, adds: "For the consumer, sQuid is available to anyone, and does not require a bank account. It complements the philosophy of the Entitlement Card being open to all".
The Dundee tie-up follows a similar deal struck last year between sQuid and council authorities in Bolton, in the North West of England, to offer access to leisure and library services through contactless cards.
In February the cards were used to trial an Oyster-style pre-paid contactless transit system in Bolton, with residents able to use the stored value cards for bus journeys operated by Arriva Manchester.