More than just a phone: How digital access is changing vendors' lives thanks to our partnership with giffgaff

IHow long could you last on the streets? It’s hard to imagine if you haven’t experienced homelessness, says Mike, a Big Issue vendor in Bristol. A single day is “too long”.

“I found myself on the street for six or seven weeks,” the proud British Army veteran recalls. “It doesn’t sound long really, but believe me, one day is too long living on the street.”

Homeless for the first time at 73 years old, Mike’s health rapidly deteriorated.

Selling the Big Issue magazine provided him with a route into housing – but without a phone, everyday survival became much harder.

“You know, even to get a doctor’s appointment now, you have to have a phone,” he says. “It’s really a lifesaving tool in anybody’s day-to-day existence.”

Luckily, Mike is one of the beneficiaries of giffgaff and Big Issue’s groundbreaking partnership to tackle digital and financial exclusion head-on. He’s been kitted out with a refurbished giffgaff smartphone – one of over a thousand that we’re rolling out to vendors and people facing barriers to work.

“giffgaff and other people supported me with the other health complications I have,” Mike says. “Without them, I’d be, well, I’d probably be dead, to be honest.

“I don’t know. I’m being melodramatic. But, you know, that’s where I was.”

The phones allow vendors to take contactless payments, access essential services and stay connected to support networks and loved ones.

The new figures from Big Issue’s one-year impact report have revealed just how significant that support has been for hundreds of vendors.

What impact has the giffgaff partnership had for vendors?

Analysing sales data from a representative sample of vendors shows that those equipped with giffgaff phones and contactless payment capability sold an average of five more magazines per week than they otherwise would have.

At a time when vendors unable to accept cashless payments saw sales fall by an average of three magazines per week, this support helped vendors avoid a downturn and earn around £10 more each week – more than £500 over the course of a year.

“People would say, do you take contactless? And I’d say, oh, no, no,” Mike recalls. “But this is when I asked Big Issue about it and got set up with contactless. That increases the sales potential. You know, that’s extra revenue for me.”

The phones are also a gateway to wider Financial and Digital Inclusion support delivered by Big Issue staff. Over the year, teams supported 832 individuals through almost 3,000 Financial & Digital Inclusion interventions – from digital skills training to money management guidance. Felipe Ramirez, national cashless coordinator at Big Issue, says the impact has been “invaluable”.

“Not only has it enabled vendors to make additional magazine sales, but it has provided a line of communication – such as with the Big Issue office so that they can stay engaged and informed about the range of support services we provide,” he says.

Breaking digital barriers to work

The partnership has also supported people seeking employment through Big Issue Recruit – Big Issue’s specialist recruitment service for vulnerable jobseekers. giffgaff is providing 400 jobseekers with phones to power their job search.

In a labour market that has moved largely online, access to the internet can be decisive. Government figures show that more than 22% of working-age people without internet access are unemployed, compared to just 3.8% nationally.

Big Issue Recruit candidate, Ainoa, was one of the people to benefit. She spent years in and out of homelessness, constantly “moving and packing, moving and packing” between squats.

Bar work and traffic surveys helped keep her afloat while she pursued puppeteering in her spare time. But after Covid, zero-hours work dried up. Her lack of a phone was not helping.

“If you don’t have a phone, how can they call you? How can they contact you?” Ainoa says. “There is this digital barrier.”

After the Jobcentre referred her to Big Issue Recruit, Ainoa was given a giffgaff phone. With a smartphone and data, she could fully engage with one-to-one coaching – building confidence, polishing her CV and identifying realistic next steps she could take.

Today, Ainoa has started an Interpreting for the Community training course, and a paid internship with the charity Change Please. The future is looking bright.

“I’m excited about the kind of jobs that [Big Issue Recruit] can help me get,” she says, “where I feel like I can thrive.”

The inclusion dividend

Across the partnership, impact survey results underline the scale of change: 88% of Big Issue Recruit participants and vendors say they feel more confident using digital technology and the internet, while 75% say their smartphone is now essential to their daily life. More than four in five report increased confidence managing their finances.

The broader societal impact is clear too: Between November 2024 and December 2025, the Big Issue x giffgaff partnership delivered £453,000 in social value for Big Issue vendors and Big Issue Recruit candidates – reflecting both the value of distributed handsets and the additional income generated through cashless sales.

The Social Return on Investment – a measure for calculating social, environmental and economic outcomes – is huge, too.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) assigns monetary values to social, environmental and economic outcomes. The giffgaff Big Issue partnership generates £3.60 for every £1 spent.

These figures tell an important success story. But the clearest success is in vendor testimony.

“I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t had support from Big Issue and giffgaff,” Mike says.

“A big shout out and a big thank you to giffgaff.”

Big Issue’s multi-year partnership with giffgaff continues into 2026 – giving us the opportunity to build on the learning and impact to date while strengthening our commitment to creating a fairer digital and financial future for all.

Find out how giffgaff is up to good at giffgaff.com