Chamber to consider cash card

BERWICK Village Chamber of Commerce has been asked to support a new network cash card.
Network Card director Christopher Hendrie told the chamber’s May meeting that the card earned shoppers a cash credit that could be spent in the village with other participating businesses.
He said the card relied on retailers giving a discount on purchases, and this was credited to the card.
Mr Hendrie said the level of discount was dependent on the trader, but the card was a means of drawing people to participating shops.
“The National Bank holds credits accrued by card holders in trust,” he said.
“We have been more than six years developing the system.
“It works well and is ideal for small and mediumsized business.
“The rewards for card holders are in cash and it is just a matter of swiping the card during the purchase process and the discount percentage is recorded in the bank’s trust account.
“The National Bank conducts an audit on the trust every Monday morning to provide security.
“The card is at no cost to the user.”
Mr Hendrie said Network Card would be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange within three months.
Chamber treasurer Neil Sutcliffe said he thought the concept was sound, but the chamber needed to do much more investigation before becoming fully involved.
He said the concept made a lot of sense, but needed to be beneficial to chamber members and shoppers.
“I believe, however, that if it gets up in Berwick it will work,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
“Traders would cut their margins, but could expect the card to bring them more custom.
“This could be a good way for people with a card to save up for a nice night out at a Berwick restaurant.
“We need to look at how it is working in other areas,” he said.