Fintech start-up thankyü has launched a wearable tipping service that it says will help hospitality and service workers, musicians and gig workers to earn more tips and get paid faster.
The concept involves a wristband - called a TipTap - worn by the server and an app installed on customers' phones. Customers then tap to tip and the money goes to the server's personal wallet.
Hull-based thankyü has developed the idea using payments tech providers viva.com and Mastercard Move. It provides a downloadable financial record of tips which the firm says can help hospitality and service staff fill in self-assessment forms and use as a credit reference for loans.
The tech was developed in response to legislation that came into force last year, which requires employs to share tips, gratuities and service charges fairly and transparently with employees. Staff can choose from two options: a pay-as-you-go system where they pay 5% of each tip transaction, or a version where they pay the equivalent cost of a tip per month and get cashback on their platform charges, a free TipTap band and a discounts card.
Gerard Toplass, the entrepreneur behind thankyü, said: "This is a tough time for the hospitality and service industry. Rising National Insurance and reduced business rates relief will make it harder for businesses and an increasingly cashless society means there’s less money for physical tips that go straight to staff, which can account for 40% of their income. But surveys show over 80% of customers want to tip using their cards or integrated wallets but want to make sure the person serving them actually gets the tip.
"That’s why we created thankyü. We want to ensure staff have the ability to keep up to 100% of their tips so they can earn more money and get paid faster. We want to treat hospitality and service staff as the key workers they are. Thankyü will allow staff to share their tips with co-workers, bandmates, family or friends and choose how they spend or save. We’ve even introduced a free weekly prize draw that will help to top up their tips.
"For employers, thankyü is safe and secure and compliant with HMRC and the Tipping Act. It reduces the administrative burden of managing cash tips, will help staff recruitment and retention and saves them paying National Insurance as the tips go straight to the server. Thankyü will ensure staff finally get the credit they deserve for their excellent service.”
Anna Lamb, founder and owner of the Nibble Café in Hull, where the platform has been trialled, said: “Currently we take tips through the handheld PDQ machine and people can add a percentage or a custom amount. We then add that up every day and like collectively add it up at the end of the week, which is then declared through payroll and it goes into the wages.
"But we have to pay National Insurance on those tips so with the NI rise, if we collect £20,000 in tips, we have to pay £3,000 on top in National Insurance contributions. I’ve always wanted a system where we could cut out the middleman so the staff could get the tips directly without NI being taken off and thankyü seems to be the answer."
