Restaurants go cashless to prevent fraud
- Written by Viw Magazine
Australia’s cashless economy growing at such a rate that the nation is predicted to be a cashless society by 2020[1]. Now, thousands of bars, pubs and restaurants are using payment apps to help make that prediction a reality. Clipp (clipp.co), Australia’s leading deals and cashless payments app and website for food and drink establishments, has seen a spike in venues looking to join its platform in the last 12 months.
The ability to offer mobile payments, deals and bill splitting among patrons, however, is not the only driving force behind the interest. Venues can lose upwards of $3000 on a single weekend from patrons using card payments.
Some venues – like Sydney’s popular Manly Wharf Hotel – have gone so far as to only allow its patrons to set up tabs through Clipp, rather than collect credit cards and ID behind the bar, as a way to combat potential fraud. Venues are guaranteed payment on all transactions, with settlement the next business day.
Justin Tynan, General Manager of Sydney’s popular Manly Wharf Hotel, says: “Since setting up Clipp as the only way customers can create a tab at the Wharf Bar, we have reduced fraud on bar tabs to zero. Before this, we would have around one walkout a week or chargebacks from banks where customers said they weren’t at our venue and as there was no signature, we were liable. We were averaging around $10,000 a year in losses. Clipp is fast, safe and easy for both our staff and customers to use and we are guaranteed payment on all tabs.”
Allan Evans, CEO of Clipp, says: “Credit card fraud is a huge issue in the hospitality industry and we are passionate about making everyone’s lives easier, simpler at safer. Our platform is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant and works to reduce fraud for venues while keeping the customer’s sensitive credit card information protected for ease of mind.
“More than 130,000 users have jumped on Clipp to enjoy the benefits, and venues are recognising that there are platforms out there that can help them that enhance the customer experience. Our platform is compatible with more than 20 POS systems without any additional hardware required, making the ease of integrating Clipp at different venues simple.
“Our relaunch in October has improved Clipp’s efficiency, and users can now open and close tabs from the Clipp website or through the app. This has allowed venue staff to focus on faster customer service, shorter queues and more patrons served. Feedback from our restaurants is that Clipp is helping them attract more customers, with groups of four being the most common.”
In the past month alone, 10 bars and dining establishments have joined Clipp’s portfolio of hundreds of venues nationwide. The new additions include Melbourne’s Storyville, 1806, Dr Morse, and The Flying Duck Hotel, Sydney’s White Cockatoo Hotel and The Harold Park Hotel, Brisbane’s Wellington Point Hotel, Fiction Bar and Kedron-Wavell Services Club, and Perth’s Market Grounds pub.
These new venues join Clipp’s stable of bars, pubs and restaurants, which include Rosetta Ristorante (Sydney), Saké Restaurant & Bar (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane), No.1 Bent Street (Sydney) and Chiswick (Sydney), Opera Bar (Sydney), Fratelli Fresh (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane), Boilermaker House (Melbourne), Frankie’s Pizza (Sydney), Eau De Vie (Melbourne), The Colonist Tavern (Adelaide), Clarences (Perth), and Bavarian Bier Café (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane).
About Clipp
Clipp.co is Australia’s leading mobile payment and deals app for bars, restaurants, clubs and pubs across Australia, with more than 600 merchants on board since it was established in 2013. Clipp enables merchants to provide exclusive deals to consumers and provides users complete visibility over their tab, from orders to spend value. Quick, convenient and secure, Clipp allows users to close their tab and pay securely and directly from their phone, as well as explore venues around them, search for deals – including up to 40% off – pay seamlessly, and save big with reward points on every dollar spent at participating merchants. Clipp won Gizmodo’s App of the Year and Tech23 in 2014, and was dubbed the next big thing by Mashable. The app is free to download on Apple and Android devices.
[1] Professor Richard Holden, UNSW, 2017: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/business-law/why-cashless-society-coming
