Graphic: Courtesy, SupportLocalNWA

A local company has created a website for businesses to sell gift cards to customers since many local places are seeing reduced revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Movista, a software development company based in Bentonville, recently launched SupportLocalNWA.com, with 100% of the proceeds of gift cards going directly to the respective businesses.

The site went live on March 23, and already offers gift cards from nearly 300 local businesses.

Fayetteville resident and Movista employee Liz Slape, who owns Crisis Brewing Company and whose family owns Penguin Ed’s Barbecue, has been helping to spearhead the project. Slape told us last week that outside of the third-party fees charged by Paypal, Venmo, etc., Movista will not charge any fees to purchase the gift cards.

“One of my favorite things about living in Northwest Arkansas is the diversity of commerce, the small businesses, restaurants and bars that employ our friends and family and improve our overall quality of life,” said Movista CEO Stan Zylowski. “We’re simply asking customers to spend money at these businesses a bit in advance (or a lot in advance if you want to do your Christmas shopping early) to help keep the businesses open and their employees on the payroll during this stressful time related to COVID-19.”

More information for businesses interested in listing their gift cards for sale is available at SupportLocalNWA.com/FAQ.