Tipping app eyes expansion

FORGETTING to carry cash will no longer be an excuse not to tip, as a cashless tipping app is raising money to expand across the UK and the US.

ThankU, founded by British entrepreneur Adrian Harris, is aiming to pull in around £150,000 from investors to roll out its innovative technology.

Businesses which heavily rely on tipping can apply to get a ThankU microchip which sits in a discreet blue blob on a table, in a wristband, or even in a pair of cufflinks. Customers who download the ThankU app on their smartphone can then tap their phone on the microchip, and choose to pay their server, porter or hairdresser a tip of any amount. Harris hopes the app can become a vital lifeline for staff who rely on tips to supplement their wages, at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is encouraging many customers to cut down on cash usage.

On a recent trip to the US, Harris went to the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles and asked Frank Boquin, a veteran bell staff who has been working in the industry for more than 40 years, what he thought of the idea behind ThankU.

‘He said he literally wanted to hug me because he and his colleagues were suffering badly from society’s move to cashless, and they had been desperately hoping for something like this to come along,’ Harris said.

It doesn’t cost the business anything to use ThankU, and the app makes its money by charging the customer 10p on top of their tip. ThankU is run by Harris and his 18-year- old chief technology officer, whom he describes as a ‘tech whizz’.