And a University of Wollongong computer science graduate – who has spent his fair share of time at the North Gong – is one of the men behind the technology.

A new smartphone application called Clipp has been signed up by the Australian Leisure and Hospitality group (ALH), which plans to roll it out across major cities, then nationwide.

Clipp co-founder Greg Taylor came up with the idea at a kebab shop late one night in North Queensland, according to former UOW student Craig Stanford.

‘‘Greg had the idea to get loyalty to work on everything, not just coffee,’’ Mr Stanford said.

Clipp has been signed up in 280 pubs, bars and clubs already, but ALH represents a major leap forward. 

Majority owned by Woolworths, with a 25per cent stake held by pokie billionaire Bruce Mathieson, ALH is the largest hotel and gaming group in Australia.

Its 329 pubs include the North Wollongong Hotel, Balgownie Hotel and the Charles Hotel at Fairy Meadow.

Clipp makes its money by being the merchant in the transaction – taking a small percentage from the venue, as do credit card companies – while using PayPal to handle security.

The appeal for venues is that when a customer wants to set up a tab, they do it themselves via Clipp, which checks and reserves the funds required. This is faster than bar staff having to take the time to set up, and wind up, a tab.

‘‘With Clipp you can just walk out the door,’’ Mr Stanford said.

‘‘The money’s guaranteed so the vendor loves it.’’

Mr Stanford said the company would focus on tab payments first before finding ways to incorporate other purchases.

‘‘We still have plans to expand into single purchases, if you want to buy one drink, one coffee... or one kebab,’’ he said.

‘‘But it’s better to do one thing really well than a bunch of things average.’’

Mr Taylor said ALH’s decision to use the technology would reinforce Clipp’s position as leader in mobile payment solutions in the hospitality industry in Australia.

‘‘It’s a great win for us,’’ Mr Taylor said.

He likened it to the early days of Visa and Mastercard which after a slow start eventually had enough coverage across a range of businesses to win broader acceptance as a payment system.

Mr Taylor said customers had their credit card details securely stored within the app, and there weren’t the security concerns which could arise with bar staff holding many different credit cards behind the bar until the bill was settled.