Groupee: New app offers easier way to pay for holidays away with friends

There is no worse way to end a trip away with mates than to add up expenses and begin the long method of working out who owes who.

Fortunately, a new app has launched just in time for the Christmas holidays that aims to make it easier for groups of people to monitor spending.

Groupee is a real-time payment app that allows groups of people to instantly share the cost of any purchase.

The app works by creating a virtual card stored on the user’s digital wallet that can be used for payments in person or online.

Jarred Baker, the founder and chief executive of Groupee, told news.com.au that he came up with the idea after working as a waiter.

“I was taking a gap year when I discovered what a pain it is for both customers and restaurants to split bills,” he said.

Splitting payments was a fact of life, Mr Baker said, and yet there was no way to do it effectively.

“Over the last 18 months, we have completely overhauled Groupee and developed the world’s first instant pay-sharing platform,” he said.

“It is a new way to pay to make things happen – especially for those who take part in shared or personal life experiences.”

The fintech that started life as a restaurant bill app has managed to secure $A1.5 million in funding after pivoting to split payments.

According to Groupee research, the pay-share market was worth $A100 billion a year, and Mr Baker said the team saw immense opportunity in shifting focus.

“We knew when to pivot to optimise our ability to solve the problem we were creating the app for, and it was this process which led us to the current app,” he said.

Instant payment apps are not new to the industry. Leaders in thisspace include Osko and Beem It, both of which allow for real-time transfer of funds between people.

Where Groupee differed, Mr Baker said, was that it enabled groups of people to share the cost of any purchase in real time so there was no paying people back.

“The best way to explain it is to talk through a scenario where multiple people need to share the cost of a single purchase,” he said.

“Let’s say four friends want to hire a car for $100. One person leads the payment – we call this person the ‘payment creator’.

“The payment creator enters bill total of $100 and then the other parties to the payment then join via Groupee and confirm their share of the payment

“Once the charge is activated by the creator, Groupee then pushes the funds to the creator’s Groupee Visa debit card for them to make the purchase via tap and go or by using the credentials online.”

Mr Baker said the primary users of the technology would be the Millennial market excited by connected payment ecosystems.

“Products like Groupee appeal to those looking for an effortless and elegant way to share the cost of experiences, and any way that stops Millennials needing to pay for their friends is going to be something they’re enthusiastic about,” he said.

Australia is just the first step for the app, with Mr Baker already setting his sights on global usage.

“There is immense opportunity to grow the app locally as the go-to way to pay together given the endless use cases for an app of this nature, but there is of course immense opportunity abroad as well,” he said.

For now, though, the app has been launched on the iPhone app store with Google Pay and Samsung Pay to follow.

Once those are sorted, Mr Baker plans to take Groupee as far as he can.

“Our audacious goal is to see Groupee in the hands of users around the globe. We’re ready to take it as far as we can,” he said.

Would a payments app like Groupee help you on your next holiday? Get in touch | eliot.hastie@news.com.au

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