Flypay 're-invents' bar tab for smartphone generation

Unveiled at yesterday’s Managed Pub Summit, Flypay and Visa Europe Collab are working with Fuller’s as an “industry champion”, creating a solution that works for them, for their customers and for the pub industry as a whole.

The new technology will allow consumers to set up an instant pre-authorised tab through the Flypay app, add others to the tab, see live bill information through a POS integrated approach, and leave at the end of the night without needing to remember to settle their bar bill.

The working group, also including Lloyds Cardnet representing merchant acquirers, has gone through a design, prototype and development phase over the last two months, and the solution will go to a live beta pilot in two Fuller’s sites in July, as stage one of the project.

The Mad Bishop & Bear will be one of the first Fuller’s sites to incorporate the new technology, with further sites set to come online this September and more operators by November.

The company said that leveraging the existing tab interface means there is almost no retraining requirements for front-of-house teams, or operational changes to the bar.

Currently, pubs keeping cards behind the bar represent a PCI compliance problem for operators, in addition to regular walk-outs.

Flypay said: “In terms of consumers, forgotten cards are a huge problem, and the lack of visibility over their tab, can leave customers feeling anxious.”

The purpose of Visa Europe Collab is to create a pipeline of innovative propositions for Visa Europe and its members.

Dr Steve Perry, former Chief Digital Officer of Visa Europe and now the Founder of Visa Europe Collab, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Flypay to bring this ground breaking initiative to such an important industry as hospitality. Our goal is to transform future interactions for consumers with payments, which represents an important first step in this transformation.”

Tom Weaver, chief executive of Flypay, said: “We were thrilled to begin working with Fuller’s on this initiative. Their innovative spirit and pragmatic approach helped us swiftly design a solution that works for Fuller’s as an operator and their customers”

Oliver Boardman, IT Operations Manager at Fuller’s, commented: “Although we already have a robust pre-authorisation system in our pubs that means no cards are left behind the bar, at Fuller’s, we are always focused on creating the best experiences for our customers. Paying at the bar, particularly when paying for a group, is an area the whole industry could improve upon. We’ve really enjoyed working with Flypay on shaping this solution.”

The solution is currently exclusive to Zonal EPOS customers. “Zonal has not only worked with us technically to get this solution working through their superb Aztec integration, but has also worked with us to look at the bigger picture to ensure our solution solves the real problems for their customers,” said Weaver.

Flypay’s technology is currently available in over 100 restaurants and bars across the UK, including Wahaca, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Jamie’s Italian, Cabana and Drake & Morgan.