Great companies are founded when the right person has the right idea, at the right time.

Take the payment company Square for example. After Jack Dorsey’s friend was unable to complete a $2000 sale of glass faucets because he couldn’t process credit card transactions, Jack built an affordable device that connected to mobiles and accepted credit card payments. That was in 2009, right when smartphones were becoming ubiquitous. It was the right person with the right idea, at the right time. YouPay has a similar story.

When Matt Holme offered to buy his wife a gift, she knew exactly what she wanted. Why? It was already sitting in the shopping cart of her favourite online store. Specifically, she wanted a new dress. She’d already selected the style, size, and saved her shipping details. However, for Matt to pay for the order, he’d have to go through the entire process again. Why wasn’t there a simple way for her to share the order with Matt and let him pay?

As the CEO of one of Australia’s leading digital design companies, Matt could see what was possible. Quickly being able to send a product link to a friend or family member for payment would help millions of retailers and potentially billions of consumers. So Matt founded YouPay.

YouPay is a safe, secure and free way to let someone else pay for you. It’s a simple idea set to make a huge impact.

The right person: Matt and his team have the experience, skills, and vision

Matt and his team at MyWork are building YouPay. Matt founded MyWork back in 2009, building websites for Aussie businesses that get results. MyWork has now grown to become one of Australia’s leading digital design companies, having built hundreds of eCommerce sites and integrated thousands of payment gateways.

Before starting MyWork, Matt was a producer at EA Canada, the team behind the FIFA video game. The Guinness World Records lists FIFA as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, selling over 282.4 million copies. Furthermore, Matt was also Co-CEO of Operation Sports, the Internet’s largest sports video games community.

We can see why Matt and his team are the perfect people to build YouPay. They have a highly talented team of developers that are experts in implementing payment gateways to eCommerce sites. They are led by a CEO who has already helped build massively successful consumer products and communities. YouPay is set to revolutionise the retailer and consumer experience.

The right idea: A powerful vision to empower retailers, charities, and consumers

YouPay is much more than a tool to help partners buy each other presents. That was only the inspiration. Already, Matt has a clear vision of how YouPay can help millions of retailers and billions of consumers.

First, what exactly is YouPay? It’s a safe, secure and free way to let someone else pay for you. To understand how it works, let’s imagine that YouPay existed when Matt’s wife first wanted that dress.

Here’s how YouPay would have helped Matt and his wife:

  1. She adds the dress to her shopping cart.
  2. During checkout, she selects YouPay as her payment option.
  3. She sends the YouPay link to Matt.
  4. Matt checks the link and makes the payment.
  5. The store delivers the dress.

Sounds simple? It is. It’s a simple idea that solves many real-world problems. Let’s explore a few of those use cases.

1. Charities accepting physical donations

YouPay makes it easy for charities to request specific items. During Australia’s bushfire crisis, charities were receiving many physical donations—but not what they needed. With YouPay links, they could’ve requested specific items such as pet food, UHT milk and bottled water. YouPay helps charities receive exactly what they need and shows donors exactly how they’re helping. It’s a win-win.

2. Parents protecting children online

YouPay helps parents protect their children when they’re shopping online. It helps protect them against scams, overspending, and identity theft. With YouPay, kids can select items online and send the link to their parents. It’s much safer than giving children access to credit cards. Parents can then approve every purchase, check totals, look for warning signs, and use a secure payment method from their own device. It’s safe and secure.

3. Low-income individuals receiving necessities

We all want to help people during their time of need. A small purchase can go a long way. YouPay lets us easily pay for our children’s college textbooks, dinner for a friend, or even a stranger’s groceries.

4. Independent retailers competing with online marketplaces

Many retailers are struggling to compete against marketplaces like Amazon. The biggest company in the world can build technologies that smaller companies cannot. Consider Amazon’s Wish List, it’s an incredibly popular tool that drives sales. YouPay provides consumers with an alternative tool, but instead of serving the market leader, it empowers independent retailers.

5. Increasing online sales

The average cart abandonment online is 84.24%, which according to Business Insider costs retailers over $4.6 trillion. YouPay helps reduce the abandoned cart rate by providing shoppers with another way to pay. If they can’t afford what’s in their basket, a parent, partner or friend can pay for them instead. Not only does this significantly increase sales, it doubles the customers per transaction (recipient and payer).

The right time: A tool that fits the cultural zeitgeist

Modern society is moving towards a gifting based culture. We’ve come a long way since the consumerist culture of the 80s. Today, any stigma around financial struggles is quickly disappearing as younger generations embrace the importance of equality. Critically, people are becoming far more comfortable asking for help when they need it. The gifting economy is here to stay.

Retailers are ready to support this gifting economy. Almost every retailer now offers online shopping and can deliver goods anywhere in the world. All that’s needed now is the right tool.

We believe that YouPay is the right tool to support the gifting economy. So if you’re a retailer that wants to empower your consumers with a payment option that makes gifting easy, let’s talk. We’d love to hear your story too.

We’ve seen that YouPay is a powerful idea backed by the ideal team, at the right cultural moment. But this is only the beginning of the YouPay story. So if you’re a retailer, come and join us on our journey.