A Big Issue vendor has become the first in Kent to accept payment by cash, card and even PayPal.

As people carry less cash around, Simon Mott decided it was time to keep up with the times and invest in a chip and pin machine which connects to his mobile.

The former Tube driver decided to move down to Dartford to pitch to customers to help out a friend with an illness. He is one of only two vendors to adopt the technology in the country.

Since adopting the technology about a year ago in London, Mr Mott said he had seen an increase of about 10% to his sales.

Mr Mott, who was born on the Isle of Sheppey, said: “I normally sell the Big Issue in London but I found a lot of my customers were not carrying cash or only had twenty pound notes. So I thought there has got to be a way around it.

“I did a bit of research on the internet and found a company called iZettle who sell chip and pin card readers where you can take payments via your mobile phone. It’s like a cash register in your pocket basically.

“I’ve had it for just over a year and in the first year of operations I’ve taken in over £500 just on card payments alone.

The portable system is also safer as it means that vendors do not carry round as much cash. According to The Big Issue’s Facebook page, one in three sellers have been mugged on the street for their takings.

The equipment is available for purchase by Big Issue vendors for a reduced price of £59.99. There is also a charge of 2.75% per sale, the equivalent of 7p per copy sold, but Mr Mott said that the increase to his sales makes it worth the cost.

This deduction can also drop to as low as 1.5% if the volume of sales increases sufficiently.
Stephen Robertson, chief executive of The Big Issue Foundation (BIF), said: “This new technology changes some of the stereotypes people apply to homeless people.

“A lot of people see vendors as ‘tramps’, but this shows many of our vendors are forward thinking.”

With the system being digitally based, vendors need to have a bank account in order to receive the payment. This could be a problem for many vendors of no fixed address, but Mr Robertson said that BIF help their vendors to set up bank accounts and would continue to do so as this technology is rolled out.

Mr Robertson also said he hoped to see a significant take up of iZettle’s payment system over the next 12 to 18 months.