Anytime you have an issue around your house, the inevitable waiting for tradies to grace you with their presence is amongst the most annoying. Online tradesperson marketplace hipages.com.au is aiming to fix that, adding ‘WhatsApp style’ messaging to their app, as well as integrating a new payment method to make paying the tradie when the job is done easier.
Home improvements are big business in Australia with around $130 billion paid every year for home improvement services. hipages is basically a market place to find a tradie to do the job you want.
hipages is, according to the company, Australia’s #1 site to hire tradespeople. Simply searching for the type of tradie you’re after brings up a list of qualified tradespeople from over 1,300 categories. Categories include the more mundane plumbers & electricians, but also gives you access to floor sanders, building designers and lots more.
hipages has integrated a number of innovations into their app, including the ability to get up to three quotes from entering the details of your job into one form. The latest update is the addition of payments and messaging to their apps though.
David Vitek, cofounder and CEO of hipages said of the new additions ‘We’re always looking for new ways to make home improvement better for both tradespeople and customers’.
The implementation of payments into the hipages app adds payments with a single tap. We’re not unfortunately talking about tapping your credit card with tap-n-pay though, it’s just a matter of adding a card to the app and tapping the approval.
The underlying credit card transaction system is powered by PromisePay, itself an Australian based company who also operates globally. PromisePay is run by CEO Simon Lee who has experience in a number of financial institutions including AXA, EBS, Skandia and our own National Australia Bank – suffice to say, it’s secure.
The bonus of this transaction is that it’s logged in the app, and an instant receipt for payment is issued electronically.
The integration of payments into the app is just the start though, with Mr Vitek also looking at ways to improve payments, saying
This is just the beginning. We see a world where you can easily pay deposits in escrow, schedule monthly payments to the gardener, apply for loans, and more, all with just the tap of a finger.
The payments are made on completion, but getting a tradie to your door is often the challenge, but having a direct, instant messaging contact to your tradie of choice has now been integrated into the app. If you’re wondering where your tradie is, message them.
The app, and the hipages website are free to use, so if you’ve been holding off on contacting a tradie, check it out.
