[ad_1]
Supplied
Volley allows users to create and share payment requests, making it easy to split bills like meals out with friends.
Picture this: It’s the end of a dinner out with friends and your group is huddled around the counter as the maitre d’ tallies up the bill.
He reads the total and, while the rest of you clutch cards and wads of cash, the unofficial leader of your party asks hopefully, “Can we split it?”
Best case scenario, the answer is yes and you spend the next 10 minutes queueing for your turn at the till, hoping you won’t be last and forced to cough up for the inevitable unclaimed drink or dessert.
Worst case scenario, the maitre d’ points to the “No split bills” sign beside the till.
It’s a hassle as old as the hospitality trade but the makers of “request to pay” app Volley hope to take the headache out of split payments.
Seven Sharp
Being financially stable may seem like a foreign concept for many Millennials and Gen Z babies.
Volley allows users to create a payment request on their phone and share it with friends. The transaction can then be approved with one tap in a banking app, eliminating the need for multiple cash or card payments.
On Monday, Volley and Bank of New Zealand announced an agreement to launch the app in Aotearoa.
Similar mobile payment systems, such as Venmo and Cash App, have been available overseas for years. New Zealand also has Dosh, which launched last year.
Supplied
Volley connects securely with BNZ and customers can authorise payments directly from their banking app.
But Volley co-founder James McCann said it worked differently.
“Some [overseas apps] rely on ‘screen scraping’ and uncontracted APIs, or ask users to deposit money into a digital wallet before they can make payments,” he said.
Volley connects with BNZ through secure APIs and customers can authorise payments directly from their banking app.
An API (application programming interface) is a piece of software which allows computer programmes to talk to each other.
A BNZ spokesperson said the agreement with Volley would help the bank’s customers simplify their finances.
“Whether it’s splitting bills in a flat, at a restaurant, or on a night out with friends, this will help take the hassle out of sharing payments, while ensuring our customers’ money is safe through our secure API,” he said.
McCann said Volley was in beta testing and would be launched soon.
“We’ll be rolling out our service with more banks over the coming months as more open banking APIs come to market,” he said.
[ad_2]