A GIFT card which keeps the Newport pound in Newport makes the perfect Christmas present.

The Newport Now Gift Card – organised and funded by the Newport Now Business Improvement District – can be spent on almost anything, anytime, anywhere in the city centre.

More than 80 city-centre businesses are signed up to accept the card, with shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and theatres all involved.

With similar schemes elsewhere in the UK there is evidence of cardholders spending more than the card’s value.

Manager of Newport Now BID, Kevin Ward, said: “Recipients can spend the money on their gift card in one go or in several visits to different businesses over a number of months.

“In the year since we launched the gift card, we have sold cards worth more than £8,000. All that money can only be spent in the city centre.

“The cards help take the pain out of Christmas shopping, with all the signed-up businesses benefitting.

“Larger Newport employers have used the card to honour long-service achievements, reward excellence, or as Christmas presents for their staff.”

The Newport Now Gift Card can be bought online at a dedicated website – newportgiftcard.co.uk – or from Liverton Opticians in Charles Street.

Stickers are displayed in the windows of the businesses that accept the card.

The BID also promotes the card as a great gift for people who live elsewhere but have relatives or friends in Newport. They will be able to go online, order the Newport Now Gift Card and have it sent to a local address.

It can be used like any debit card and users can check the balance on the card at any time on the website.

A constantly updated list of participating businesses and an interactive map of their locations is available at newportgiftcard.co.uk

Meanwhile, BID businesses that have not yet signed up for the card can do so via newportgiftcard.co.uk/get-involved