Gift it local | Keep it local | Eat it local | Celebrate it local
The City of Kalamunda is excited to partner with the Community Bank Forrestfield and High Wycombe Bendigo Bank to launch this Local Gift Card program. This buy local initiative will stimulate and strengthen our local economy, while increasing community connectedness and engagement.
Register your business here
Find participating businesses here
Kala Cash gift cards will be sold from various participating businesses in the City of Kalamunda. Cards can be purchased and loaded with funds to the value of between $10 to $1000. These gift cards can be redeemed at local participating stores.
Show your support for your local businesses by purchasing one KalaCash card, or many.
Find more information below:
Cards are loaded either externally via Why Leave Town, or in-store at dedicated ‘Load Up Stores’.
Within the Load Up Stores, money is placed onto the cards using the REFUND function on the EFTPOS terminal. The flow of money for this transaction is as follows:
As little as $10, and as much as $1000 can be loaded onto a single card.
When a card holder wants to spend money on their card, they simply present the card at a participating store, and the transaction takes place again via the EFTPOS terminal.
To check the balance of your card simply click on the relevant shop local program below.
https://sam.emerchants.com.au/
Once you have checked the balance of your card it is also a good idea to write this amount on the back of the card so that you can keep track of how much you have left to spend.
Are you having problems checking your card balance?
If so, then just follow these steps:
The cards can only be loaded once, but they can be used to buy things multiple times. This means that the value which is loaded onto the card cannot be added to, but the card can be spent all at one time or a little at a time.
The cards will work on all standard EFTPOS terminals within Australia. They are made to the same standard as any of the bank issued debit style cards. The cards will also work with EFTPOS terminals that are integrated with a computer.
The cards are required to be swiped through the EFTPOS terminals to transact. Therefore, they will not operate via pay wave.
Please note that the cards WILL NOT work on Square, PayPal or similar card readers.
The cards need to be treated like cash, and hence if they are lost then this is just like losing cash. However, if the card number is known then the card can be replaced. Holders of the card are encouraged to register the card at https://www.whyleavetown.com/register-card when they first receive it just in case it is lost.
Card funds that remain after 3 years from being loaded will expire, in line with government legislation requirements. The cards themselves expire 6 years after their printing date – regardless of if they have been loaded or not.
Once cards expire then the holder of the cards cannot access this money.
To sign up it is Easy! Simply head to: https://www.whyleavetown.com/register and select to join the Kalamunda Program.
Community Bank Forrestfield and High Wycombe Bendigo Bank will fund the registration of the first 109 businesses to register to be part of the program. Businesses wishing to participate in the program above 10 load up stores and 99 redemption stores, will be invoiced directly by Why Leave Town Promotions and charged as per the table below. Self-activation packs will be sent to these businesses.
Businesses will be charged standard fees for each transaction that takes place on their EFTPOS terminal. That is, they will only be charged what they normally would be charged when transacting any other EFTPOS savings card. There are NO ADDITIONAL FEES charged by Why Leave Town (WLT) .
Load Up stores should also check with their terminal provider if there are any fees associated with processing REFUNDS.
WLT also recommends that businesses do not accept payment for WLT Gift Cards via credit card to avoid the associated fees. Under no circumstances should payment via credit card over the phone be made for WLT cards. This is to help avoid potential fraudulent activity.
Backed by Australia's fifth largest bank, Forrestfield and High Wycombe Community Bank Branch not only gives the community access to award-winning financial products and services, they are also committed to returning profits to our local communities.
Community Bank Forrestfield and High Wycombe Bendigo Bank have reinvested $2,493,755 million dollars directly to support local projects, events, initiatives, schools and not for profit organisations in the City of Kalamunda.
Talk to them today about how they might assist you with their full suite of financial products and services.
Branches are located at:
Community Bank Forrestfield Bendigo BankLocated: Hawaiians Forrestfield, Shop 6/20 Strelitzia Avenue, ForrestfieldTelephone: (08) 9359 0711Email: forrestfield@bendigoadeliade.com.au
Community Bank High Wycombe Bendigo BankLocated: High Wycombe Village, 530 Kalamunda Road, High WycombeTelephone: (08) 9352 8430E highwycombe@bendigoadelaide.com.au
Why Leave Town (WLT) is in the business of supporting and helping to grow Australian communities. The focus is in providing programs and tools that help local businesses thrive.
Operating since 2007, they have a lengthy history of working with a variety of councils, chambers and community groups with the purpose of encouraging people to think local first. They are passionate about what they do and take great pride in seeing communities prosper through the use of their products.
The cards are manufactured with PVC plastic and contain a magnetic strip that is encoded with the card details. Each card has a unique identification number as well as a 4 digit pin located on the back of the card.
For a full list of the shop local gift card terms & conditions click HERE.
A copy of Why Leave Town's Privacy Policy can be found by clicking HERE
The City has launched a confidential, advisory support program in partnership with Business Station to help local small businesses. The confidential, one-hour sessions will include a financial review, clarify focus areas, detail available government stimulus support and outline staged action plans.
There is also opportunity for owners/operators to discuss any additional questions or concerns regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the business.
The support sessions are available to businesses with less than 20 employees, a lease on a premise in the City of Kalamunda or registered owners of a small business in the City of Kalamunda.
To book a session, eligible businesses can email enquiries@kalamunda.wa.gov.au from your business email address, with “COVID-19 Small Business Advisory Support Program” in the subject line and include the following details in the email body: Business name and Australian Business Number (ABN), Contact name, Business address and Mobile number.
Many of the City's local businesses are continuing to offer take away and delivery services to serve patrons. The City is encouraging residents to continue to support these local businesses by checking with them directly to find out how they can still enjoy their food/beverages/creations.
The City has created a downloadable resource listing all of the region’s eateries/venues/niche operators with contact details to make it easier for residents to get in touch. The City is also promoting a local Facebook Group which residents can join to be kept informed of the latest menus and delivery options in the Perth Hills.
The City is proposing a Gift Card Program with expected launch date 30 November 2020. The program will be in partnership with the Community Bank Forrestfield & High Wycombe Bendigo Bank.
To assist local businesses in our district to recover from the effects of COVID-19, Community Bank Forrestfield & High Wycombe Bendigo Bank are investing funding to establish a Local Gift Card program in the City of Kalamunda. There will be zero cost for businesses to participate in this program.
This program has enjoyed significant success in other communities in getting residents to shop locally, as outlined below.
Community Bank Forrestfield & High Wycombe Bendigo Bank see a mutually valuable opportunity for the City of Kalamunda to partner with our business in establishing this program in the community.
The gift card program is run by Why Leave Town Promotions (WLT) which is an EFTPOS based gift card system aimed at keeping money within communities by encouraging people to shop locally. The initiative involves creating a gift card that is specific to a certain community. The cards are then restricted as to where they can be used, so that they can only be spent with the local participating businesses within the City of Kalamunda.
Gift cards are loaded with funds at nominated ‘Card Load Up Stores’, to the value of between $10 to $1000. Local businesses register to be card redemption stores so people can spend their local gift card at their business. Gift cards can then be redeemed at multiple participating businesses (the entire value of the card does not have to be spent in one transaction at one business).
The City’s COVID-19 taskforce is meeting regularly to support the Kalamunda Leadership Team, which is coordinating our pandemic response.
The City is currently providing information and referrals for support for local businesses. This includes creating a website hub that lists updated information such as links to the:
The City’s website COVID-19 response webpage also lists specific information and resources detailing:
The City understands the economic impacts of the Coronavirus are hurting local businesses and encourages local business owners and operators to get in touch with the City’s Economic Development team with any specific questions. You can call the City on 9257 9999 or email enquiries@kalamunda.wa.gov.au
COVID-19 Response & Support
Grants & Funding