Raise your hand if you've ever left your credit card at a bar.
Pretty much anyone who socializes regularly at watering holes at some point will experience the absentmindedness of SWT (socializing while tipsy). The result? Having so much fun, you forget your card and your tab! Worst part is the huge inconvenience of having to go all the way back to retrieve it when, by then, you've got much better things to do! (ha!)
Well, Andre Powers, the founder of the Bed Stuy-based point-of-sale app called Stuypend has eliminated the pain of having to use your full brain power during times of "distraction." It's a new feature he's added to the app called "Tab," that allows its users to start a tab with a merchant and close out the tab without ever having to pull out your credit card.
"So when you're ready to pay, you don't have to go back up to the bar; you can just make a payment and leave a tip right from the app," said Powers. "So even if you forget to close out in the app, the bar can close it for you. You can just set it and forget it."
Basically, it's like sending a Venmo payment to the bar. And, of course, it only works where merchants are participating.
BK Reader first reported about Stuypend when it launched two years ago. Powers created the app after noticing so many local businesses in Bed-Stuy, where he lives, only accepted cash payments.
"As a consumer, it was an inconvenience having to run to an ATM to take out cash or having to buy more because there's a minimum for credit card payments," said Powers. "So I started asking around and the merchants told me about the high credit card fees."
That's when Powers had his "aha!" moment. As a computer science major and after working at a tech startup, he knew exactly what he needed to do and, more importantly, how to get it done.
He created Stuypend for local merchants, offering one low monthly processing fee-- 1/10th of what they pay for credit cards, he says-- which not only saves the small businesses money but, also, gives cash-challenged consumers an incentive to shop local.
Wondering which merchants carry Stuypend? Download the free app on your iPhone or Android to find out. There's a map that pinpoints all of the participating businesses.
Every new customer gets $3 dollars off their first three purchases. And once a customer, you can elect to receive their monthly newsletter announcing which new merchants have been added. ... And it gets better: If you shop with a new merchant, you'll receive $4 off that purchase.
With this locally-sourced app that not only saves small businesses money, encourages local patronage and lets you imbibe worry-free, expect Bed-Stuy bars to get a little boozier-- I mean, busier.
