Restaurants can now say goodbye to payment headaches with Blackbird Pay, a newly launched platform from Blackbird Labs that combines blockchain efficiency with customer rewards.
Blackbird Labs, the creator of the web3 payments app Blackbird, has introduced a new payment platform tailored for restaurants called Blackbird Pay.
Built on Blackbird’s proprietary blockchain, Blackbird Flynet, the platform offers restaurants a comprehensive payment and check settlement solution. Restaurants incur a 2% fee per transaction, while diners can utilize Blackbird’s FLY reward points to cover meal costs.
According to Ben Leventhal, founder and CEO of Blackbird, over the past decade, while restaurant technology has advanced significantly, payment systems have remained costly, cumbersome, and technologically outdated for most establishments.
He further claimed:
“Blackbird Pay changes all of that and we’re excited to partner with the restaurant industry to forge a new path forward.”
In October 2023, Blackbird raised $24 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with additional investments from QED, Union Square Ventures, Shine, Variant, and various restaurant groups. This funding round brings Blackbird’s total funding to $35 million, which the company plans to use to scale operations, according to TechCrunch.
Blackbird Pay is designed to drive traffic and generate new revenue streams for the restaurant industry. The platform allows consumers to pay for their meals using the $FLY cryptocurrency, which can be earned as loyalty points at participating restaurants or purchased in the Blackbird app using Coinbase’s USDC stablecoin.
Additionally, restaurants on the Blackbird Pay network benefit from lower transaction fees, paying a flat rate of 2% per transaction compared to typical credit card fees that can reach 3.75%.
This setup not only saves money for restaurants but also enhances the dining experience for customers by allowing them to pay their check via the app at any point, enabling them to leave whenever they’re ready, similar to having an old-school house account.
