Telefónica MVNO, giffgaff is providing newspaper the Big Issue with 250 refurbished smartphones which will be given to new vendors to sell the magazine and enable them to generate cashless sales.

It’s Big Issue’s first ever phone partnership with a mobile network, and the first time that vendors will have access to phones equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. It means they can take cashless payments directly using a smartphone, without the need for an additional card reader. This will make sales smoother and easier for vendors – as well as making it quicker and more secure than ever for our customers to buy from them.

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.”