Giro - Cultural Significance

Cultural Significance

Before the use of electronic transfers of payments became the norm in the United Kingdom the fortnightly 'giro' payment was the normal way of distributing benefit payments. When unemployment peaked in the 1980s, large numbers of people would receive their benefit payment on the same day leading the concept of Giro Day, marked by the settlement of small debts and a noticeable increase in drinking, partying, and festivity activities. It is the focus of the 1996 film Waiting for Giro.