USA | Blackbird Labs has launched a new restaurant payments and rewards platform to improve merchant economics.
Blackbird Labs, the hospitality-tech company founded by Resy and Eater co-founder Ben Leventhal, has announced the launch of Blackbird Pay, an all-new payments product designed to improve economics for restaurants while providing guests with a transformative dining experience.
Powered by Blackbird's new blockchain, the Blackbird Flynet, Blackbird Pay gives restaurants a fresh way to address the ever-growing problem of shrinking margins and eroding cash reserves by providing them with their very own end-to-end payments and check settlement network for the first time. Restaurants on the Blackbird Pay network pay on average two percent per transaction, a huge cost savings as compared to the fees typical in legacy processing fee structures. At the same time, Blackbird Pay enhances diners' end-of-meal experience, leveraging the Blackbird platform to allow for automatic settlement and the hospitality magic of not having to wait for the check. In addition, Blackbird Pay gives diners the added benefit of being able to pay in $FLY, Blackbird's native rewards points.
"In the last decade, we've seen great advances in restaurant technology, but we have made virtually no progress with payments, which tend to be expensive, cumbersome, and technologically opaque for most restaurants," said Ben Leventhal, Founder and CEO of Blackbird.
"Blackbird Pay changes all of that and we're excited to partner with the restaurant industry to forge a new path forward."
When a diner checks in at a Blackbird (member) restaurant, they simply tap on a proprietary Blackbird puck with an NFC chip at the host stand or register when they arrive, and a check opens within the Blackbird app. Diners can then indicate if they want to split the bill with their tablemates, pay for their meal with their accumulated Blackbird $FLY points, use their credit or debit card within the app to pay, or choose to use a combination of $FLY and a card. They can also tip with it, too. If a diner doesn't have enough $FLY points to cover their meal, they are able to purchase points in-app using traditional payment methods or USDC.
"Blackbird Pay has the power to revolutionize the entire restaurant business," said Roni Mazumdar, co-owner of Unapologetic Foods.
"Being able to save thousands of dollars a month in processing fees alone is incredible, but being able to now have one place where we can strengthen ongoing relationships with our customers, is a total game changer in this challenging environment."
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