Group Bill Payments Get Social With PayTap

Email

Share

We’ve seen plenty of payments-related startups unveiled at TechCrunch Disrupt SF over the past few days, but one that really caught our eye is PayTap – a social payments company that could fill a simple but specific niche in the online payments industry.

PayTap’s big idea? Allow users to co-pay bills online, and use existing social media outlets to help users coordinate with each other and track bill payments. Credit, debit, PayPal and bank transfer are all accepted, and PayTap takes only a $1 flat fee per transaction.

Co-founder Sean-Michael Daley says PayTap will initially rollout as a web app, but will have iOS and Android apps out shortly.

“We’ve got an opportunity with this to really disrupt the way financial institutions and money transmitters have used this market in the past. We also have a chance here to drive the next evolution of people online to make their payments,” Daley said.

It’s not hard to construct scenarios under which using PayTap would be helpful, and Daley provides several. Need to split a utility bill with roommates? PayTap would make that easier. Combining forces to buy a gift online? PayTap lets you see who’s contributing. Family members all need to chip in to help cover a medical bill? PayTap can streamline the process and send funds directly to the biller.

Plus, as Tech Crunch points out, PayTap has enormous potential in the charity and donations sphere as well. Anyone looking to do fundraising for any goal could easily manage his or her own income and progress with an app like PayTap.

PayTap already has a merchant integration with Amazon, and Daley said he believes more merchants will want to add the system since it encourages on-time payments. The payment service is only available in the U.S. for now, but plans to expand to international payments in the future.

Could you see yourself using PayTap or a similar service? Let us know in the comments below. And to see video of more Daley’s responses, catch his interview on Tech Crunch here.