PayPoint has announced new raft of measures to support independent retailers during the coronavirus outbreak.

The initiatives include a campaign to celebrate ‘Retail Heroes’, a £25,000 contribution to the NFRN Covid-19 Hardship Fund, fee increase waivers, service fee charges, and a new partnership with Deliveroo.

PayPoint’s ‘Retail Heroes’ campaign is due to launch this month, with the aim of recognising retailers in the PayPoint network that have gone ‘above and beyond’ to serve their communities. The winning retailers will be showcased across PayPoint’s social media channels, receive a certificate and a £500 donation to a charity of their choice.

Coronavirus: Marketing your store in difficult times

PayPoint has also revealed it will be making a £25,000 donation to the NFRN’s Covid-19 Hardship Fund, which has already raised more than £200,000.

In addition, it will be introducing changes to its service fees and billing process. The first component of this is waiving the yearly inflation increase to service fees, which will remain consistent with last year’s amounts.

This will be coupled with a permanent move to service fee billing in arrears, benefitting retailers’ monthly cash flow, and the option for those forced to close their stores to claim a service fee refund for the closure period.

Find out more on our coronavirus information hub for retailers