Why Bank Transfers Are the Worst Way to Split a Dinner Bill

The “Sort Code” Dance

The bill arrives. One hero pays on their card. Then, the dance begins. “What’s your sort code?” “Is it a business account?” “What’s the reference?” “Did you get it?” “Let me cheque… no… wait, yes.”

It takes 15 minutes to leave the restaurant. It’s painful.

The “Reference” Nightmare

If you rely on bank transfers, your statement looks like this: * DINNER * FOOD * YUM * THANKS

Good luck working out which £25 payment was for the Thai food on Tuesday and which was for the cinema on Friday. Without clear metadata, reconciling who has paid you is a nightmare.

The “Payee Limit”

Most banking apps have a limit on new payees or trigger fraud cheques if you send money to a new person late at night. “My bank has blocked it, I’ll send it tomorrow.” Narrator: They did not send it tomorrow.

The Solution: Payment Links

Modern fintech (like Halfsy) uses Open Banking. 1. You get a link. 2. You click it. 3. It opens your banking app with the amount and reference pre-filled. 4. You FaceID. 5. Done.

Summary

Stop doing data entry at the dinner table. Use technology to handle the boring bits so you can get back to the conversation.