Iliffe FAQs
As you know, our newspapers have been charging a small fee for access to their top stories, using Axate, a secure system which allows you to pay for individual articles. We have been blown away by the level of support from our readers and the sheer number of you signing up, thank you.
During the Covid-19 crisis, local news matters more than ever. We are determined to keep delivering you the vital local information and resources that you need, and like us all, we are facing new challenges.
For that reason, during the Covid-19 crisis, we are changing our price to 20p per day. We appreciate that everyone is facing challenges so if you’re unable to pay at this time, we’re still here for you – just click “No Thanks” and you can read on without payment.
Ian Carter, Editorial director
1/ YOU’RE ASKING ME TO PAY?
Yes, a little bit. But we want to give you choice, so we have now introduced a ‘pay if you can’ feature. By registering an account with Axate, you can continue to support our work by paying a small amount for a story. Then you’ll read for free for the rest of the day. Or you can click “no thanks” and read for free.
2/ WHAT IF I ALREADY HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION TO A NEWSPAPER?
As a subscriber, you are entitled to free access to the website of the newspaper you are subscribed to. Just click the link underneath the green button, and then provide your details in the email form that pops up. If you have a problem, Axate will do their utmost to fix it: contact them on support@axate.com
3/ HOW DO I SIGN UP?
It’s really easy. You do not need to divulge lots of personal data, and you only need to sign up once. It takes no more than 2 minutes. After that, you will be able to visit any other site which uses Axate without any further action. Just click the “register” button on the Axate tab.
4/ IS IT TRUSTWORTHY?
Yes. Axate uses Braintree and PayPal to process payments, so you know your credit card details are secure.
5/ IS IT TRANSPARENT?
Yes. We want to make sure you know exactly what’s happening at all points. You can choose whether or not to actively authorise each payment, or you can pre-approve certain charges, depending on your personal preferences and spending limits. The green Axate tab on the side of your screen will always let know when you’ve been charged. The tab will also allow you to see prices, your progress towards the weekly “free point” and give you access to your account details.
6/ HOW MUCH DO I NEED TO PAY?
You can upload as little as £1 into your wallet. If you don’t like it, you can cancel within 14 days and you’ll get a full refund of your unspent balance. There’s no subscription. When your wallet runs low, you decide how much to top up. If you don’t spend anything your wallet stays at the same balance.
7/ HOW DOES THE DAILY LIMIT WORK?
Axate is a pay-per-article system. Premium articles are 20p each, but reading just one article will give you free access to the whole of that site for the rest of that day. If you forget our prices, just click on the green tab in the top left of your screen to open your Axate. This system means you never spend more than want each week, whether you read three, five, 10 or more of our longer stories*.
8/ DO I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS EVERY TIME I WANT TO READ SOMETHING?
No. Once you’ve signed up, the payment for each article is instantaneous. You won’t have to continually enter your payment details, or sign up for multiple sites. If you choose to pay automatically, you won’t even have to click anything. This system cuts out any hassle.
Even better, if you go to another Axate-enabled site it will just work there too without any more signing-up or topping-up.
9/ WHAT IF I WANT TO RE-READ SOMETHING?
Having paid for an article once, you can re-read it whenever you like, at no extra cost. If you wish to go back to something six months later, you can – there’s no time restriction.
10/ CAN I USE MY AXATE WALLET ON OTHER SITES?
You can use your Axate Wallet on various newspapers in the Iliffe group - their logos are at the top of this page. To keep up to date on where you can use Axate, just go to https://www.axate.com/whos-using-axate. If you sign up through one of our titles, you will be helping to support us - even if you use the money to read articles elsewhere. Iliffe benefits every time you top up your wallet, regardless of where you spend the money. We think Axate have set up a sensible system of funding for digital publishing. If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to graze across various websites without having to sign up or subscribe separately to each one.
– If you have some feedback you think Axate would benefit from, please email support@axate.com
* Fair use restrictions will apply
Last updated 16 April 2020