7 ms·

Bill split apps are really nice if you live in a shared housing/dorm type situation. At our hacker house, we're always going out for dinner together, or sending

by T-R 14y ago

Bill split apps are really nice if you live in a shared housing/dorm type situation. At our hacker house, we're always going out for dinner together, or sending someone out to get food, or ordering groceries on Instacart - saves so much time not having to use cash, or keep track of who got what beforehand. Really wish this was an option while I was in college. We've been using Split&Pay ( https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/splitandpay/id593386557 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/splitandpay/id593386557 ) - payment is really smooth (just click the button in the e-mail and you're done), particularly since we all already have WePay accounts, since that's how we organize our rent payments. Full disclosure: Author of the app is one of my housemates, and founding engineer of WePay.

Domenic_S 14y ago
> saves so much time not having to use cash ...really?
- Falling3 14y ago
  I don't really have a use for the split myself. But I definitely understand that it could be easier than cash. I never have cash. Ever. My paycheck is direct deposit. Almost everywhere I got accepts debit cards - even vending machines and meters. I occasionally get money out for a farmer's market or similar event, but it's always for something specific and very much the exception to my spending habits.
- T-R 14y ago
  Yeah, really. For one, no one in the house carries cash, and no one wants to - that was even more true in college when a lot was paid for via campus ID. Not everyone has transportation to an ATM, either. More importantly though, when people are splitting bills more than twice a week (often with different subsets of the group), getting paid back isn't just a pain, it gets to be a source of tension in the house - really quickly no one wants to split bills, because no one wants to have to harass their friends about money. With the bill split app, the person who pays racks up reward points on their credit card, and all they have to do is type in how much everyone owes, and that's the end of it. Everyone else clicks a button and they're paid up.
  - Domenic_S 14y ago
    > Not everyone has transportation to an ATM, either. Do they go grocery shopping? Get cash back when paying with debit. It's free and handy. > no one wants to have to harass their friends about money. Sounds like more of a personality issue... clearly they have the means to pay if clicking a button works. Back in the dark ages my roommates and I just kept a running tally of who owes what on the whiteboard. Kinda nice because you can use those amounts as "accounts" -- I owe you $20 for internet, but 4 days later you owe me $20 for dinner, so we're square. No need for a transaction at all. We'd settle up, if need be, at the end of the month by writing checks. These days you don't even have to go to the bank to deposit them. > With the bill split app, the person who pays racks up reward points on their credit card ...and then pays 4%. Worth it?
    - T-R 14y ago
      Not sure why you're so insistent this is a non-problem (to the point of implying that I or my housemates have personality issues, much less) - it's not like we haven't tried cash. It sucked, so my housemate made an app, and it's awesome. > Do they go grocery shopping? Not really - in college most people relied on the meal plan. At the house, we make heavy use of Amazon and Instacart. Those who do shop still don't enjoy having to remember to get cash and make change. > Sounds like a personality issue People forget, or just forget to grab cash, because it's not something they normally do, and no one enjoys playing debt collector. WePay can hold balances, too, so the app is basically just a more convenient version of the whiteboard, but with the extra feature of saving a trip to the ATM. If obtaining cash was somehow related to a personality issue, but that person was otherwise a good housemate, it'd be worth it to throw some technology at the problem and make it a non-issue. > checks People are more likely to have a computer, so there's no need to add paper and OCR into the mix when there are better options. > and then pays 4% Only if the retailer is passing the transaction fee onto the customer, in which case they can pay with some other method. People paying debts can link a bank account, so their transaction fee is maybe 50 cents.
      - Domenic_S 14y ago
        http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2012/11/8/18/anigif_enhanced-buzz-31658-1352416027-1.gif http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2012/11/8/1... > no one enjoys playing debt collector. That's the personality issue I was referring to. I can see the infomercial now... "Is asking the person you share sleeping quarters with for the $5 he owes you causing hernias and cold sweats? Is retrieving a $10 bill and handing it to a person you see during most of your waking hours just too much damn work? Do you think checks are for old people? Then listen up, 'cause we have the product for you!" Snark aside, I'm probably just being short sighted. People said the same thing about early consumer digital cameras, too (1/16 the resolution of film, 5x more expensive, mega slow, one lens, and 5 pictures fills up my hard drive? Where do I sign up?!) and now it's ubiquitous.
NZ_Matt 14y ago
Doesn't online banking already solve this problem? and without the %5 cut that the credit card apps take for each transaction.
- T-R 14y ago
  You can opt to connect a bank account to WePay instead of using a credit card, dramatically reducing the transaction fee.

by T-R 14y ago

Domenic_S 14y ago

> saves so much time not having to use cash ...really?

Falling3 14y ago
I don't really have a use for the split myself. But I definitely understand that it could be easier than cash. I never have cash. Ever. My paycheck is direct deposit. Almost everywhere I got accepts debit cards - even vending machines and meters. I occasionally get money out for a farmer's market or similar event, but it's always for something specific and very much the exception to my spending habits.
T-R 14y ago
Yeah, really. For one, no one in the house carries cash, and no one wants to - that was even more true in college when a lot was paid for via campus ID. Not everyone has transportation to an ATM, either. More importantly though, when people are splitting bills more than twice a week (often with different subsets of the group), getting paid back isn't just a pain, it gets to be a source of tension in the house - really quickly no one wants to split bills, because no one wants to have to harass their friends about money. With the bill split app, the person who pays racks up reward points on their credit card, and all they have to do is type in how much everyone owes, and that's the end of it. Everyone else clicks a button and they're paid up.
- Domenic_S 14y ago
  > Not everyone has transportation to an ATM, either. Do they go grocery shopping? Get cash back when paying with debit. It's free and handy. > no one wants to have to harass their friends about money. Sounds like more of a personality issue... clearly they have the means to pay if clicking a button works. Back in the dark ages my roommates and I just kept a running tally of who owes what on the whiteboard. Kinda nice because you can use those amounts as "accounts" -- I owe you $20 for internet, but 4 days later you owe me $20 for dinner, so we're square. No need for a transaction at all. We'd settle up, if need be, at the end of the month by writing checks. These days you don't even have to go to the bank to deposit them. > With the bill split app, the person who pays racks up reward points on their credit card ...and then pays 4%. Worth it?
  - T-R 14y ago
    Not sure why you're so insistent this is a non-problem (to the point of implying that I or my housemates have personality issues, much less) - it's not like we haven't tried cash. It sucked, so my housemate made an app, and it's awesome. > Do they go grocery shopping? Not really - in college most people relied on the meal plan. At the house, we make heavy use of Amazon and Instacart. Those who do shop still don't enjoy having to remember to get cash and make change. > Sounds like a personality issue People forget, or just forget to grab cash, because it's not something they normally do, and no one enjoys playing debt collector. WePay can hold balances, too, so the app is basically just a more convenient version of the whiteboard, but with the extra feature of saving a trip to the ATM. If obtaining cash was somehow related to a personality issue, but that person was otherwise a good housemate, it'd be worth it to throw some technology at the problem and make it a non-issue. > checks People are more likely to have a computer, so there's no need to add paper and OCR into the mix when there are better options. > and then pays 4% Only if the retailer is passing the transaction fee onto the customer, in which case they can pay with some other method. People paying debts can link a bank account, so their transaction fee is maybe 50 cents.
    - Domenic_S 14y ago
      http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2012/11/8/18/anigif_enhanced-buzz-31658-1352416027-1.gif http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2012/11/8/1... > no one enjoys playing debt collector. That's the personality issue I was referring to. I can see the infomercial now... "Is asking the person you share sleeping quarters with for the $5 he owes you causing hernias and cold sweats? Is retrieving a $10 bill and handing it to a person you see during most of your waking hours just too much damn work? Do you think checks are for old people? Then listen up, 'cause we have the product for you!" Snark aside, I'm probably just being short sighted. People said the same thing about early consumer digital cameras, too (1/16 the resolution of film, 5x more expensive, mega slow, one lens, and 5 pictures fills up my hard drive? Where do I sign up?!) and now it's ubiquitous.

NZ_Matt 14y ago

Doesn't online banking already solve this problem? and without the %5 cut that the credit card apps take for each transaction.

T-R 14y ago
You can opt to connect a bank account to WePay instead of using a credit card, dramatically reducing the transaction fee.