Eat now, pay later: New app that’s changing dining out

A Brisbane-based tech company has developed its own version of the hugely popular scheme, bringing it to restaurants, cafes and bars so we can all avoid the instant pain of that big bill at the end of the night.

The booming “buy now, pay later” financial system loved in retail has come to restaurants with a new Brisbane-based company allowing diners to eat out today and settle the bill later.

App Payo takes on a similar model to retail giants like Afterpay, Latitude Pay and Klarna where customers can dine at their favourite restaurant, pay 25 per cent on the day and the remainder across three equal payments every fortnight.

With BNPL providers reporting 6 million users in Australia, Payo co-founder Taf Chiwanza said the payment method was the way forward for hospitality.

“This is how [Australians] like to pay and all we’re doing is bringing it to hospitality,” he said.

Since launching in March this year, Payo has signed on more than 200 restaurants, cafes and bars in Brisbane, and has grown its users by between 300-400 per cent month on month, luring them in with no interest, no monthly payments and dining discounts of up to 20 per cent at select venues.

Mr Chiwanza said the app, which is funded by eateries paying an average of three per cent per transaction, was a win-win for hospitality and consumers.

“We’re confident that if a Payo user walks through the door they’ll spend more money, but we’re also sending new faces that [venues] maybe wouldn’t have seen because we have the search and discovery functionality on our app. There’s an element of loyalty as well in that people are coming back,” he said.

Belinda Winch with Mousa Saket at Eleven Bridges gin bar in South Brisbane, which uses the buy now, pay later app Payo. Picture: Josh Woning

Eleven Bridges Gin Bar and Distillery in South Brisbane has been offering the payment method for three months and said it had increased their patronage as well as spend, generating around $2000 in extra sales.

“People who wouldn’t come out are actually venturing out and they are spending more money,” said manager Belinda Winch, who revealed locals were now visiting up to four times a week using the app.

Mousa Saket, 22 of Kenmore in Brisbane’s west, signed up to Payo two months ago, using it fortnightly, and said he loved that there were no fees or interest and the discounts had allowed him to save up to $250 on eating out with friends since joining.

“There’s a lot of venues that I didn’t even know were in Brisbane and using this app showed me a lot of new places to try,” he said.

Mr Chiwanza said the app was designed to give financial freedom while being responsible, with late fees capped at $40, all eligible customers needing to meet a strict criteria, and spending limited to $1000, with diners accounts frozen until they have paid down their debt.

Payo will launch on the Gold Coast in early September, with plans to move into Adelaide and Perth by the end of the year, and Sydney and Melbourne once lockdowns lift.