Liven’s COVID-19 Care Packages are a win-win for diners and restaurants, with restaurants immediately receiving funds to assist cash flow and diners rewarded with up to double the credit with no risk or expiry

Leading dining payment and rewards app, Liven, has today partnered with over 650 high-profile Australian restaurants to launch Liven Care Packages. The initiative gives consumers the ability to pledge money to their favourite restaurants (#SaveYourFaves) to support the reopening and survival of the Australian hospitality industry.

Aussies who want to support restaurants can do so at no risk by purchasing a Liven Care Package within Liven’s app, an upfront pledge similar to a gift voucher that ensures they can dine out at their favourite restaurant, with many venues matching spend dollar-for-dollar. The care packages are available to all consumers through the app and Liven has already seen over $100K pledged in the days since it’s private soft launch.

To support the #SaveYourFaves campaign, more than 650 of Australia’s most-loved restaurants have already signed on as Pledge Partners, which means they match customer spend up to dollar-for-dollar (e.g. buy a $100 Liven Care Package, spend $200 when you dine out), with no expiry at all to claim the credit value.

To eliminate risks for customers, like venue closure and expiry, Liven has set up a relief fund of $1 million to underwrite customer contributions, protecting them from losing their initial investment, no matter the circumstances.

Liven co-founder and CMO, Grace Wong, says that Liven Care Packages are a win-win, as restaurants receive immediate funding, while consumers can support the industry without any financial risk.

“It’s up to bleeding-edge tech companies like Liven to step up and give the community the tools we have created to combat this once-in-a-lifetime event. The Liven Relief Fund is built on the blockchain, which means all drawdowns are completely traceable and accountable; we are in the perfect position to help thousands of Australian restaurants across the nation,” says Wong.

Liven co-founder and CMO, Grace Wong

“As foodies and entrepreneurs who have lived and breathed the hospitality air alongside our amazingly dedicated partners, it breaks our hearts to see so many of them out of business, for reasons beyond their control. We have a responsibility to support the industry that allows Liven to exist and brings joy to our user’s lives,” she adds.

"We already have over 650 restaurants on board and hope that following this announcement, we will see the rest of the industry jump on board to save and boost their businesses at this challenging time," says Wong.

Unlike all other industry players, Liven has waived all platform fees and is absorbing credit card transaction fees so that 100 per cent of the money raised belongs to restaurants. For restaurants, Liven Care Packages provide immediate cash flow and guarantee sales, whether currently if they offer takeaway or later when restrictions are fully lifted and customers can dine in. If restaurants are trading during lockdown, Liven will continue to be a safe, contactless payment experience for customer pick-up.

The nation-wide initiative means that any merchant within Australia can provide a Liven Care Package to their community. Users can now select any restaurant in the country to support directly from the app and if it’s not currently offering Care Packages, Liven will reach out to the owners to sign them up, at no cost, so that they can receive the monetary support. It’s free for restaurants to sign up to Liven, so there is truly nothing to lose by participating.

Launched in 2015, Liven is Australia’s fastest-growing payment and rewards platform with more than 700,000 users and 1000 venues on the platform, including favourites like Din Tai Fung, CoCo Fresh Tea and Gelato Messina. The app, which is connected to individual credit or debit cards, rewards users with LVN, the app’s digital currency, everytime a meal is paid for using the app. The reward can then be used on future meals paid for in the app. Liven has generated almost $20 million in revenue for Australian restaurants, mostly in the last year.

Lotus Dining Group CEO and former MasterChef contestant, Mindy Woods, says she is looking forward to being part of an Aussie-first initiative that could be a very real and practical solution for the hospitality industry.

“Our partnership with Liven to date has been transformational for our business, and we are taking this relationship further by partnering with Liven as a Pledge Partner for the Liven Care Packages, due to the financial ingenuity and creativity behind the initiative. During this uncertain time, Liven has stepped up as an Australian fintech leader to implement this innovative solution”, says Woods.

Lotus Dining Group CEO and former MasterChef contestant, Mindy Woods

Chef-owner of Melbourne’s Lee Ho Fook, Victor Liong, urges other operators to jump onboard the Liven Care Package initiative.

“In order to come out the other end thriving and resume our business operations quickly, we, as Aussie restaurants, need to stand united today with a new mindset. For every single brand that comes on board the #SaveOurFaves campaign, there will be more attention to the cause, which in turn will help the overall ecosystem raise more funds for hospitality. We will be able to save more businesses as a result,” says Liong.

Chef-owner of Melbourne’s Lee Ho Fook, Victor Liong

Alix Rimington, Head of Amatil X (Coca-Cola Amatil's corporate venturing platform) said: “We’ve been impressed by Liven’s on-going commitment to the hospitality industry, particularly through the #SaveYourFaves initiative. We made an investment in their latest funding round and are working collaboratively to deliver programs that will drive business for our customers.”

Alix Rimington, Head of Amatil X

For more information about Liven, visit www.liven.com.au

• Liven is a simple way to earn rewards every time you pay for a meal. It’s Australia's biggest loyalty-based payment network and the first platform to “gamify” payments in the offline world. Launched in 2015, LivenPay now connects more than 700,000 foodies and more than 1000 restaurants, where users instantly earn between 10 to 35 percent of their restaurant bill as a digital currency reward that can be used on future purchases.

• LivenPay won Sir Richard Branson’s 2019 Extreme Tech Challenge for Digital Payments and Blockchain.

• Liven has leveraged partnerships with leading Point of Sale (POS) terminal providers to achieve a technical reach of more than 25,000 venues to drive adoption across restaurants, cafes and bars in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

• Liven restaurant partners include Din Tai Fung, Gelato Messina, CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice, NeNe Chicken, Roll’d, MoVida, Maha, 8bit Burger, Gotcha Fresh Tea and many more.