In the early days of cell phones, text messages were for short, simple messages you had to deliver in an instant. Today, more people text than talk as the technology has become as ubiquitous as the phones themselves. And with a little help from Philadelphia mobile commerce company
Xipwire, a text can send more than words, helping pay for meals, send gifts and even settle a restaurant check. This month, Xipwire will test these features at Old City's
Zahav Restaurant and
University City's
Pod, changing the way you celebrate the holidays.
"All the restaurants know they have
to stay ahead of the game and they just get it," says Xipwire
co-founder Sibyl Lindsay. "It's so much more interactive than bringing a
check to the table. When the server gets the text, they can see a
profile pop up, it protects our Xipsters and our merchants, and the
restaurants are really excited about it."
After premiering the technology last May at the
Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, Xipwire has been working to bring text-to-pay into restaurant locations. Xipwire creators hope new restaurant promotions will make the product more of a household name. Right now, new customers can try out the service in a restaurant setting by sending the following Twitter message "@xipwire can I have the @flyingkite XIPCODE for my free drink @StarrRestaurants Pod in University City." Creators hope this "gift" platform will change the way diners give and receive gift certificates around the holidays.
"This promotion highlights another thing that we are trying to do which is bring giftcards into the 21st century," says co-creator Sharif Alexandre. "I have giftcards in my desk right now that I haven't used because I never bring them with me. If Pod is charging me five dollars for a drink and I have a 25 dollar giftcard sitting in my account, it should know to take that first. And that is how Xipwire works."
Source: Sibyl Lindsay, Xipwire
Writer: John Steele