New app allows cash free nights out

London pub group Geronimo Inns has launched the Bartab app across its 32 outlets, allowing customers to buy or receive drinks via their smartphone.

The free app means friends can buy each other drinks remotely, with no need for a cash transaction at the till. Instead, users can redeem drinks via their iPhone or Android by presenting its screen to the bar staff, who will then process a mobile payment to the registered credit card through an HD tablet installed by the till.

In those venues with table service, customers can also use the app as a way to avoid queuing at the bar on busy nights.

With the option for pubs to contact customers directly via their phones, Bartab is presenting the scheme as a new opportunity for venues to market themselves and run targeted promotions. In addition, every drink ordered through Bartab will register on the user’s Facebook wall, offering further publicity for the outlet.

Although there is no charge to customers for using Bartab, the app takes a “small transaction fee” from the gross price of the drink.

Covering all credit card fees and PCI compliance costs, the service does charge pubs a “reasonable monthly fee” to lease each tablet, although this fee includes free upgrade, maintenance and one-off replacement for any damage.

While Geronimo is currently Bartab’s largest client, the app has also been picked up by The Hansom Cab group, which has five pubs across London.

With an aim to be in “several hundred venues” by the end of this summer, Bartab is currently in discussions with major drinks producers and distributors about developing partnerships, as well as pub chains, nightclubs and bars.

In September the scheme plans to launch “Bartab 2.0”, which will introduce new features helping pubs to track – and reward – their customers, as well as attract fresh clientele.