BillyChip partners with Big Issue to help our vendors

BillyChip is a transferable token system that reimagines how people experiencing homelessness can access goods and services across the UK. The public can buy BillyChips at local outlets then donate them to be redeemed for different items, including food and drink, clothing and pet supplies.  

Jack Gascoigne is communications director at BillyChip and has worked at the social enterprise since its launch: “BillyChip is a way that members of the public, who feel hesitancy towards donating cash to rough sleepers through fear of supporting harmful addictions, can still support. It was set up in memory of my best friend, Billy.” 

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Billy Abernethy-Hope was a non-emergency ambulance driver committed to supporting marginalised communities in Bristol. Having worked directly with people experiencing homelessness, Abernethy-Hope wanted to tackle the culture of people feeling anxious about donating. Often spotted chatting with marginalised people in his community, he wanted to create a movement that would treat vulnerable individuals with dignity, respect and support. 

“It was ingrained in him at a young age,” Gascoigne adds. “It was a passion that he had. 

“Billy sadly passed away in 2018 following a motorbike accident in Thailand. His family and friends and
I set up BillyChip in his memory. 

“His main goal was to try to make sure that there was that social interaction between the public and homeless people. Even if someone didn’t have money to give, just for them to stop and say hello.” 

Since its launch in nine coffee shops, BillyChip has spread nationwide, partnering with Co-op, Costa and Greggs. Outlets in the scheme have reported reduced antisocial behaviour in their stores, with the chips now found in major supermarkets and independent sites across the UK.  

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“There’s a nice balance between the ethical big chains that really do care and want to help out and the small independent coffee shops that actually build a relationship and a rapport with their local homeless community,” Gascoigne says. 

“If 1% of the takeaway coffee outlets in the UK also support BillyChip, we’ll be able to feed 18,000 people a day and give £20 million a year as charity. 

“The UK economy spends £2 billion a year on takeaway coffee. If we just had the smallest amount of that also put into BillyChips, the support that we could give would have a massive impact on rough sleeping numbers.” 

Big Issue vendors will soon be able to use BillyChips to buy copies of the magazine to sell, making the route to working and gaining employment skills more accessible for vulnerable people.  

Penny Walster, Big Issue’s director of partnerships and programmes, says: “We’re excited to be partnering with BillyChip to trial a new way for the public to support vendors in their self-earning mission. Through the autumn, Big Issue sellers in Bristol and Bath will be able to use BillyChip’s innovative community currency to buy their magazine stock from us. It means that, by giving BillyChip tokens to your local vendor, the money you’ve spent is effectively an investment a vendor can double through their sales. 

“It’s a great new way to support our model of helping people work their way out of poverty, with every token you give enabling vendors to grow their income and retain their financial independence.” 

“It goes back to Lord Bird saying, ‘This is a hand up, not a handout,’” Gascoigne adds. “It’s a brilliant way for that message to be reinforced and for people to be able to support their rough-sleeping community as a way of getting out of homelessness and being able to create micro-businesses through Big Issue. 

“It’s the idea that BillyChip can not only provide hot food or drinks but can also be used as a currency for people to be able to get up on their feet and to start those social interactions that were so important for Billy.” 

Find out more about BillyChip.

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