Restaurant Payment App Settle Raises $1.5 Million

Settle, a new restaurant payment app from Ukraine, has just raised $1.5 million in funding. According to TechCrunch, the soon-to-launch app is a "mobile payment service" that allows users to order, tip, and pay from their smart phone. It aims to "dramatically reduce the time it takes to pay" a restaurant or bar tab. Settle has partnered with many Eastern European banks so the app is connected "directly to a user's bank card without Settle having to store that card information themselves."

Restaurants using Settle will be given tablets with an app to "view customer and billing information." The app will also include analytics capabilities. Settle may offer a feature allowing it to integrate with Apple's iBeacon technology With this link, restaurants would be able to send special offers directly to a customer's phone as they enter the dining room. The app, which is available on iOS and Android, will use the $1.5 million to expand its reach across Eastern Europe. First, it will debut in Kiev, Ukraine, and then it will launch in Moscow, Russia, and Warsaw, Poland. Mobile Payments Today writes that Chashka, an espresso bar in Kiev, will be the first restaurant to test Settle, beginning on August 8.

Settle isn't the only company that wants to make it easier for diners to pay their check: Cover, an app similar to Settle, also allows diners to pay via their smartphones. Cover users can also split the check evenly between all members of a dining party. Cover recently raised $5.5 million in funding and is currently available at over 100 restaurants in New York City and San Francisco.

· Settle Raises $1.5 Million [TechCrunch]
· Company Wants Patrons to Settle Bill [Mobile Payments Today]
· All Apps Coverage on Eater [-E-]