Australian dining rewards app, Liven, has announced its partnership with Apple Pay through an in-store invisible payment integration, offering an Uber-like experience in the dining sector.
Liven offers users the opportunities to order food and pay at their tables in restaurants, instead of having to walk all the way to the counter, scan a QR code or wait for a staff to come around.
Shahrooz Chowdhury, Chief Product Officer at Liven, likens the service to the mechanism of the rideshare giant in terms of convenience.
“It’s a wonderful experience to tap once in Liven and then walk out of the restaurant with your phone in your pocket and know that the bill will be taken care of. It’s just like getting out of an Uber and not worrying about payment.”
With the trend of digital wallets on the rise in recent years, tech giants such as Apple, Google and Samsung have developed digital payment systems that are integral to the functionality of their products.
Once featured as Apple’s national app of the day, Liven is the first dining rewards app that offers Apple Pay with an invisible payment integration.
Nevertheless, this successful partnership was the result of mutual effort from both parties, as well as Liven’s unique proposition.
“We’ve both invested in building a working relationship. Apple has a great developer programme that Liven takes part in, so we constantly communicate and align on our overlapping roadmaps,” Shahrooz said.
“We asked for working examples locally and abroad of any company who had brought invisible payments to retail point of sale and there wasn’t any to share. That’s when we knew the extra work solving this was something unique and worth the effort.”
Although the startup is emulating the convenience of delivery companies such as Uber and Deliveroo, recognising the rising demand and expectation from consumers, it is actually trying to solve the very problem that has arisen from their popularity. That being the fact that delivery companies tend to take a large commission from restaurants, and discourage diners from eating in and taking up physical seats.
Liven’s idea is to offer the same convenience of the likes of Uber, but to offer this convenience within the restaurants themselves.
Shahrooz believes that while customers will benefit from this integration by receiving a faster and more secure way of paying, restaurants could also onboard more users as customers no longer need to queue.
He pointed to a recent statement from industry association Restaurants and Catering Australia (RCA) which encouraged people to either pick up their own food or dine in at their favourite restaurants, rather than using a delivery service.
“It’s no secret that takeaway giants are taking huge commissions from local businesses.
“We hope that our unique integration with Apple Pay helps to give the power back to Aussie business owners by getting more diners through the door and offering them ultimate convenience, rewards, and payment flexibility.”
For Liven, this partnership marks the beginning of its ambitious journey of disrupting the world of payment in 2020.
“With this integration, it’s the first step that allows customers to experience invisible payments in retail at point of sale, which we believe is the consumer future,” Shahrooz said.
“We’re building the future of money where currency has its own memory and intelligence and innovating the in-restaurant dining experience, and it’s only just the beginning.”
Liven is the only Australian startup to qualify for Richard Branson’s Extreme Tech Challenge in 2019. Its service is now available across Australia.
Keep up to date with our stories LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
