How to tip with a credit card

How to tip with a credit card is something that is increasingly searched for on the internet. As we told you, tipping in Spain is becoming less frequent since the arrival of COVID-19. Cash is being replaced by cards. Paying by card is faster and more hygienic, but one of the collateral damages is the decrease in tipping.

Nevertheless, there are users who are looking for an alternative to coins and banknotes. Not all heroes wear capes. For those who plan to continue tipping their trusted waiters and delivery drivers by credit card or otherwise, this article is for you.

Is it possible to tip by credit card?

Yes, it is possible to tip with a credit card. While it is true that it is not very common, it has always been on the table.

How to tip with a credit card

If you want to tip by credit card, all you have to do is ask for the bill and inform the waiter or waitress that you are going to use this method of payment. The waiter or waitress in question will come to your table with the final amount. You can always tell them to add a certain amount. For example, if the bill is €35.50 and you want to leave a tip of €2.50, you can simply tell the waiter or waitress to charge €38.

In principle, this would not be a problem, although there are always doubts about this. We will talk about them below.

Is paying tips by credit card bad for the worker?

It should not be. It is true that many users wonder whether the worker in question will ever see that money. And that is something we cannot control. Every restaurant, every hotel, every delivery company is different, and each has its own rules and protocols. Nobody can guarantee that the owner will not keep it, which is what many people fear.

It is true that it is something that provokes rejection when it comes to tipping. And not only by card, but also in cash. It doesn’t matter if we give, for example, a €5 note to a waiter for excellent service. In most cases, that note will go into the tip jar and then be shared equally with the rest of the waiters and waitresses.

Is this fair? It depends on how you look at it. And it also depends a lot on the context, of course. Imagine a staff of 7 waiters and only 2 of them actually do their job well (and get tips). Splitting it with the other 5 would feel very unfair. But of course, maybe the ones who get the most tips are not the ones who do the best job, but the ones who have the best people skills. What would be fair in that case?

And of course there is the case of the cooks. Because tips are distributed equally, they too can get a tip. This is ironic when you consider that the dishes are their own creations, and that different gears come into play to ensure that a dish arrives at the table in perfect condition.

Disadvantages of tipping with a credit card

It is actually very easy to list some of the main disadvantages of tipping by credit card. In fact, our tipping app stems from this need, as well as this mistrust that has been generated. That said, here’s a list of the disadvantages of tipping with a credit card.

1. From the customer’s point of view, there is no certainty that the tip goes to the waiter.
2. In the absence of a physical tip jar, there can be problems of mistrust among the staff.
3. When you record all your tips with a dataphone, workers and owners lose information. Although not necessarily associated, a good, attentive and polite waiter will logically receive more tips than a waiter who is not. This can be detrimental to follow-up.
4. Workers are not tipped immediately. Tips are usually handed out at the end of the season. For example, summer. There are times when the worker leaves the restaurant and the tip has not been distributed fairly.
5. For small businesses, charging by card is synonymous with extra commissions from their bank. Therefore, they prefer tips to be in cash.

Choose Tipeame: your tipping application

Taking into account all that we have told you so far, added to the downward trend of tipping in our country, Tipeame is born. Our tipping application has been designed with the aim of achieving a satisfactory situation for both the worker and the owner. As well as promoting the act of tipping in Spain.

Thanks to our application, customers will be able to choose who they tip, whether it is a waiter or a cook. They will be able to choose the amount they want and the tip will arrive instantly. In fact, they won’t even need to download it. They simply scan the QR code provided by the staff.

In addition, the owners will be aware of who the most tipped workers are, which can encourage that person’s growth within the company.

So, if you want to tip with a card, think there’s a better way to do it. Tipeame is here to revolutionise the world of tipping.