Painless Payment
Have your steak and eat it too.
When I was in college, a good friend of mine painted a mural inside a little steak sandwich joint in exchange for unlimited free meals at the restaurant. Shortly after painting that mural, my friend moved and the owner allowed him to transfer his meal credit to someone else.
My excellent friend—my gracious benefactor—bestowed on me the most wonderful gift I have ever received. Unlimited steak sandwiches.
I frequented this restaurant so much, they knew my order without me having to ask. A Steak Knife sandwich with fries and sauce on the side.
I’d just walk in, ask for the usual and wait for my number to come up. The sandwiches were not very good (the restaurant has since closed its doors), but while it lasted I felt like this was “my” sandwich shop.
And it wasn’t just because I didn’t have to pay. It was because the transaction happened in the background. There’s a difference.
Most shopping experiences end in a transaction. You pull out your wallet and swipe a credit card. You turn to leave when the cashier asks you to hold on a sec. You need to sign the receipt.
There’s a 10¢ pen shackled to the register on a chain. You scribble your name (does anyone check signatures?). You wait as three more slips of paper print out so you can stuff them in your pocket.
If you live in Silicon valley, there’s a chance you can ask the cashier to “put it on [Your Name]” and they’ll charge it to your Square account. But it’s still a mechanical transaction that you have to prepare for and initiate.
The web is even worse. It doesn’t matter if I have a credit card on file with a vendor. They will still check to make sure the card I’ve been using is still how I want to pay.
At Zaarly, we decided to require that all customers put a card on file in order to make their first purchase. This was a brand-level decision.
When you have a card on file, it means you don’t need to think about the transaction next time. Your shopping experience from that point on is entirely human.
Order a cake from Amy and she delivers it. She’ll charge your account from her phone on the way home. Order house cleaning from Tynisa, she’ll show up and make your nasty bathroom sparkle and you’ll get an email receipt later that day. If there’s a mistake, we deal with it.
Computers should talk to computers so people can talk to people. Ask, receive, done. That’s the experience we’re aiming for.
