Asda and MMU work together to provide e-Gift cards for students

If we were to rewind 12 months, nobody could have foreseen what 2020 would bring…

E-gift cards for students has become an invaluable asset recently. In today’s ever-changing landscape, organisations often have to react to emerging needs at short notice. This has been particularly true for the education sector, where schools need to support vulnerable families with pupils in isolation and more recently for universities, when groups of students have been asked to self-isolate.

Manchester Metropolitan University needed to provide students with food or funding to buy food when groups of students tested positive for COVID-19. After speaking to its local Asda store, it contacted Asda for Business – the corporate gift card team – and we were able to provide a contact-free, secure solution.

Using Asda e-Gift cards, Manchester Met was quickly able to provide students with £50 to spend online at asda.com, meaning that they could choose groceries, in line with their own dietary requirements and have them delivered directly to halls of residence. 

Secure and accessible eGifts at your fingertips

With Apple and Google wallet compatibility, the students could also keep their eGifts on their smartphones – secure, accessible and with visibility of card transactions.

Working with Asda for Business, Manchester Met also ensured that any additional funding can quickly and easily be provided by utilising our ‘remote reload’ facility.  And with bulk corporate discounts available, working with Asda has made their budget go that bit further.

Paul Davenport, Deputy Director of Finance at Manchester Met, said “ASDA pulled out all the stops to enable us to support our students at a critical time by making e-gift cards available to them within a few hours of our order being placed.”

It’s the first in a number of links we hope to forge with schools, colleges and universities throughout the UK in order to provide e-Gift cards for students. So, if you’d like further information about our work with MMU, or how we might be able to help you, then register now for more information.