Split, split, split, split… boom
After undertaking all of these different research methods and experiments, we still have a relatively murky idea of how impactful a split the bill function would actually be. Even though people request it, the data seems to suggest that a lower number of people would use it, albeit with more frequency.
If you build it, they will come
So why not just build it and see how it goes?
Well for one, it’s a very big piece of work, both from a user experience standpoint and a technical one. There are many challenges and considerations, such as the time-sensitive nature of splitting the cost of something that only takes 20 minutes or so to arrive.
Do users want to split the cost evenly, based on a percentage or per item? What’s the best way of taking payment from multiple cards, including card fees? How do we handle both current customers and signing up new ones on the same order?
These are just some of the things we’d need to resolve. And taking all of this into account, we’d also need to compare the value to our customers against how impactful it would be to the business.
Enter Monzo
We had the idea to use Monzo.me for a split the bill function when they launched it in December last year. But at the time we thought it would require us to integrate with their API, so it was a non-starter.
Our team started talking about it again a few weeks ago and we came up with the idea to build a very simple solution by allowing customers to share their Monzo.me link from within the Deliveroo app. We knew we’d be able to learn so much more by having a functioning split the bill feature. As it was a quite a small amount of work, we pitched it to our product manager and then got the green light to go and build it, which is exactly what we did.
The solution is quite basic but functional. Customers can save their Monzo.me username on first use, then select the number of people they want to split with, including themselves. We calculate the cost per person and then customers can share their Monzo link via the standard OS share sheet. The amount is pre-filled in the link along with the restaurant name, which creates a link like this:
https://monzo.me/jamesstorer/26.60?d=Deliveroo%20order%20from%20Nandos
(feel free to send me money
Companies
Deliveroo
- Retail
Monzo
- Non Creative Industries