Immediately Blackbird, a restaurant loyalty startup based by former Resy and Eater founder Ben Leventhal, introduced the launch of Blackbird Pay, a brand new restaurant cost community.
Powered by the corporate’s new blockchain, Blackbird Flynet, Blackbird Pay is a cost system that Blackbird says will cost lower than conventional cost platforms (2% on common in comparison with 3.5% for methods resembling Toast). The system permits clients to play with the Blackbird app utilizing their debit or bank card inside the app, or to make use of a mix of $FLY (Blackbird’s native loyalty factors) and a card.
Whereas the corporate emerged from the sport primarily positioned as a next-gen loyalty platform firm, Leventhal informed The Spoon that funds have at all times been on the roadmap.
“We’ve been speaking from the very begin in regards to the significance of giving eating places instruments to carry charges down to extend the constancy of the information they get buyer to buyer,” stated Leventhal. “And we strongly imagine that pay is a big a part of that equation. We’re launching a funds product that permits eating places to switch funds between shoppers and eating places way more cheaply than they will utilizing legacy rails.”
Whereas Blackbird Pay marks the corporate’s entry into funds, one in every of its key differentiators is the instruments it offers restaurant operators to boost their loyalty applications. As soon as the shopper faucets in utilizing the proprietary Blackbird NFC puck, the restaurant is notified that the visitor is a Blackbird member. The client’s eating profile features a proprietary Visitor Worth Rating and details about their eating historical past and VIP standing. This permits eating places to supply personalised perks, advantages, factors, unique entry, and different tailor-made hospitality choices to entice and reward their friends.
Along with launching Blackbird Pay, the corporate has additionally added further communication options and enhancements round constructing membership applications. In keeping with the corporate, Sra. Martinez launched a founding members program previous to its Miami opening, which enabled new members to realize entry to tables forward of reservations opening and obtain free cocktails and amuse bouche whereas eating.
In keeping with Leventhal, the brand new system isn’t a “rip and change” for the present level of sale system, however as a substitute, one that may be a ‘web new service.’
“We don’t wish to introduce new complexity and introduce a brand new system that eating places have to coach up on,” stated Leventhal. “Blackbird is constructed to combine with these methods, and implementation for the restaurant is fairly light-weight.”
Whereas various startups that launched throughout the crypto increase have both scaled again or pivoted, Blackbird has remained centered on using blockchain as an underlying enabler for brand spanking new options. However, as Levanthal has stated from the time of launch, the aim is to allow these new options whereas making the person expertise of shoppers and eating places using the platform as easy and abstracted from the underlying know-how as doable.
“From a know-how standpoint, we’re utilizing the blockchain to maneuver tokens from client wallets to restaurant wallets,” Leventhal stated. “And we’re utilizing the blockchain to do it in a safe and scalable means. And to the extent that buyers care about that, or for that matter, eating places care about that, you’ll be able to peel again the onion, so to talk, and discover how that works on the platform. We’re actually not hiding it. However by way of the product expertise, it’s not entrance and middle.”
You may watch the complete dialog with Ben Leventhal within the video beneath.
