Pay Your Bar Tab Using TabbedOut
Going out on the town with your iPhone is great. Want to see a movie? Buy tickets in advance from your device. How about making dinner reservations? There's an app for that too. But wouldn't it be cool to pay for your dining or drinking tab from your iPhone? A new app called TabbedOut from developer ATX Innovation will soon allow you that freedom.
TabbedOut works by housing your credit card information securely on your device. When you visit a participating TabbedOut restaurant or bar, you provide the restaurant with a unique code generated from the app.
This code enables your iPhone to communicate with the establishment's point of sale system and allows you to view and ultimately pay your tab at the end of your meal. You can pay your tab whenever you're ready and your receipt is automatically emailed to you. No more waiting.
There are many great benefits to this system. The convenience factor is obvious. How many times have we had to wait for a busy waiter to come and take our money after we've finished eating. Another big plus is security. Identity theft and credit card skimming can be eliminated entirely since plastic is taken completely out of the equation. Not having to hand over your credit card can avoid any potential theft. While the app is free to download, there is a 99 cent service charge billed to the app developers for each transaction.
This innovative payment system is getting a big roll out this week in anticipation of the SXSW show in Austin, TX, where it is currently the only city to offer this convenience. The developers hope to bring the service to more big cities in the coming months so keep an eye on this one.
For those heading to Austin this week for the show, give it a download and let us know what you think.
