Socially we all are accustomed to tipping service staff, from waiters to petrol attendants and even your local car guard. This is part of the social fabric of South Africa where a large number of people rely on tips as their main source of income.
So what happens when society goes cashless?
That was the catalyst that got entrepreneur and fin-tech founder Kimlynn Temple set on finding a way to provide a digital tipping solution for today’s world of digital finance.
“That journey has been a long and hard one”, Kimlynn shares. I did not expect this to have taken so much time and energy to bring to this point, she comments.
Its familiar territory for those starting out on an entrepreneur’s path, good ideas are often held back by situations not anticipated or expected and only perseverance and a full belief in your goal keeps it moving forward, and Kimlynn has proven that she has great quantities of both.
The Genesis of the Journey
The story of Tipped began at her local shopping centre when she felt terrible when she did not have any cash on hand to tip the car guards. Temple is clearly a person of empathy but also a determined women who wanted to make life better for a group of people often left in vulnerable situations like having their cash stolen.
The concept started out as a simple digital wallet, with a QR code format that people could scan and then transfer a tip into the persons e-wallet. The funds could then be withdrawn or used at retailers to buy goods without the risk of carrying cash.
Kimlynn adds that “Tipped is now accepted at 45 retailers and funds are settled immediately with a set 5% fee, enabling service staff to have access to their funds immediately.”
Sasol Adopts the Service for Forecourt Staff
The service has recently been adopted by Sasol fuel stations and is being rolled out across South Africa and it is easy to understand why the Fuel company is keen to use the product.
It has grown and developed into a fully-fledged financial service that includes the ability to transfer funds, peer-to-peer at no charge, do EFT’s, with access to micro loan facilities and retirement and annuity products in a market that usually would not have any retirement benefits can now start saving for the future.
Companies can also use the service for incentives and bonuses while providing a proper banking facility for those employees without a bank account, without having to draw and pay cash and so reducing the risk of theft or money disappearing.
At Sasol they have used the facility to measure which of the fuel attendants get the most tips and are paid a bonus – encouraging better client service levels in other staff members.
Further Developments Planned
There are further plans to start introducing discount baskets at retailers that will be customised based on the data received from purchases and money movements as well as the possibility of cross border payments being introduced.
The system is fully compliant with regulations and provides an entry level financial product that is flexible and serves a market that is often unbanked and out of reach to normal financial services.
This type of innovation is breaking financial services boundaries and serves a dual purpose to both the Tipped and the Tipees and highlights the ongoing innovation found in the Fin-Tech arena in Africa today
