Buyvite – Manage Group Payments

Collecting money from people for a group purchase is never an easy task. Somebody is always short on cash, somebody always needs change, and somebody is always claiming they already paid their share when they haven’t actually contributed a dime. Buyvite is a web-app that takes the pain out of collecting group payments by moving the entire process online.

Let’s say you’re planning a trip to Aruba with some friends. Rather than putting the entire trip on your credit card and then calling each person individually to get reimbursed, you can log on to Buyvite and launch a new group purchase before making any travel reservations. Tell Buyvite who you want to collect money from, how much each person should contribute, and what the money is going towards. Buyvite will immediately invite your friends to sign up for its service through email, Facebook, or text. When each person in your group has made his or her financial contribution, Buyvite will send the money your way. Have the funds your friends have contributed deposited directly into your bank account, or request a special coupon code from Buyvite that can be used on any one of the web-app’s partner sites.

Among the many useful features included with Buyvite is a dashboard, where group organizers can see who has given money to their cause and who has declined to contribute. The dashboard page is also where organizers should go to make adjustments to their group purchase amounts or invite additional people to contribute.

Practical Uses:

• Organize trip to Europe with your friends
• Collect money for a group birthday present
• Avoid fronting any money when buying concert tickets for friends
• Go in with your siblings on a Christmas gift for Mom and Dad

Insider Tips:

• Buyvite will deposit money into any U.S. bank account
• New users can sign into Buyvite through Facebook
• Buyvite can invite an organizer’s friends to contribute via text message
• Most bank transactions take 1 to 3 days to go through

What we liked:

• People’s credit cards aren’t charged until the organizer fulfills the transaction
• Buyvite gives people a way to collect money for group purchases without putting up their own money
• Organizers can see who has contributed to their group funds at any time
• People can contribute the amount suggested by the purchase organizer, or any other amount they wish

What we didn’t like:

• Buyvite charges an administrative fee to each group contributor

Alternatives:

• Kapipal – http://www.kapipal.com
• WePay – https://www.wepay.com

Company Info:

• Launched: May 2012
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Toledo, Ohio
• Founded by: Brandy Wimberly
• Web site: http://buyvite.com

Costs:

• Users pay a 3.5% transaction fee