Ciara Walsh and James Fahy. Image: Julien Behal Photography
The Irish fintech, which launched in 2021, has developed a platform to streamline tipping processes in the hospitality sector.
Irish start-up JustTip, which has developed a cashless tipping platform for the hospitality industry, has announced the successful closure of a €1.1m funding round.
The fintech, which already has offices in Dublin and Manchester, will use the funding to expand further in the UK, along with building relationships in the hospitality industry and accelerating the company’s product and team growth.
The funding round, which was led by ComOp and Enterprise Ireland, closed in September and brings the total investment in the company to date to €2.1m.
Launched in 2021 by entrepreneurs James Fahy and Ciara Walsh, JustTip’s tipping platform – which the start-up says is used by more than 600 merchants and 13,000 employees in Europe and the UK – wants to create an environment where tips for hospitality workers are paid easily, quickly and fairly.
“All tips generated through our systems are collected, pooled and distributed weekly directly to the employees’ bank accounts bypassing the employer completely,” explained Fahy, co-founder and CEO of JustTip.
“This ensures transparency and fairness, empowering employees with tools to ensure that tips left for them, go to them; while also streamlining processes for employers.”
The company says that the platform ensures compliance with legislation in the UK as well as Ireland’s amended Payment of Wages (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022, which requires employers to show complete transparency on all tips, gratuities and service charges to workers, as well as providing a breakdown of electronic tips and their distribution.
Speaking about the announcement, Fahy says the funding is a “huge vote of confidence” in the company’s vision and will “enable us to continue our rapid growth into 2025 and beyond”.
Since its launch, JustTip has seen considerable success in the fintech start-up scene. In 2022, the company won the best new start-up award at the Tech Excellence Awards. More recently, the start-up won the Financial Services (FS) Challenger category at the 2024 FS Awards in Dublin.
Earlier this year, the company launched a new mobile tipping solution called TipFlex, which was developed for restaurants, pubs and hotels offering table service.
Speaking on behalf of the lead investors, Glen Magee of ComOp said JustTip is the company’s third investment in the payment and tipping space in 2024.
“The automation of payment and tipping is being driven by legislation and the increased use of non-cash payments. Where JustTip stood out in this space is the exceptional leadership team of James and Ciara,” he said.
“We are excited by both their product expansion and geographical expansion, and are here for the long term.”
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