Since launching in late 2021, ArtsPay – Australia’s first for-purpose payment fintech company – has just surpassed $1 billion in processed payments. It is clearly reshaping the way we pay for things and – in turn – is a great disrupter to our reliance on conventional art funding streams.
That story is about to get bigger. Today (31 March), ArtsPay announced a new partnership with Clover, the world’s smartest point-of-sale (POS) system.
Clover’s hardware options, ranging from handheld Flex terminals to full-service restaurant set-ups and self-service kiosks, are cost less than alternatives such as Square, Tyro, Zeller and traditional banks.
What does that mean for Australian businesses and the arts? It means that there is a viable option out there for Australian businesses that is a win-win – with low interest fees for them and a spin-off benefit of supporting artists.
The organisation explained in a statement: “The announcement will cement ArtsPay as more than just another payment company – it is a payment system that is changing the system, turning the payments industry into a force for good in the community. ArtsPay is Australia’s only payment company that is a certified social enterprise.”
ArtsPay CEO Marc Goldenfein added: “ArtsPay has an ambitious mission and now we have the technology to back it.”
How does it work?
If you use Clover at your POS, it will directly contribute to the arts and cultural sector in Australia. It will also mean that ArtsPay has more reach in the marketplace.
ArtsPay in essence is a payment provider, but one that channels profits from transaction fees to support the arts, via The ArtsPay Foundation (ACNC registered). It is a game changer.
Half (50%) of ArtsPayʼs commercial profits are given to the ArtsPay Foundation, which in turn makes grants to artists and small to medium arts companies. Recipients have included pvi collective in Perth, Awesome Black in Sydney and independent artists such as visual artist and poet Elyas Alavi (Melbourne), dancer Belinda Yee (Sydney) and author Ellen O’Brien (Melbourne), among others.
Read: Can arts funding be self-sustaining?
ArtsPay co-founder Alistair Webster added that ArtsPay challenges the state of the payments industry. “Australians pay more than $7 billion in fees annually, enriching banks and tech giants with little return to the community. ArtsPay is here to change that. Every tap of the card should add up to something bigger.ˮ
Who’s behind ArtsPay?
The company was the brainchild of school friends Goldenfein and Webster, who joined forces with artist Lara Thoms to create a sustainable way to fund the arts sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thoms had lost 18 shows overnight.
She said: “Artists struggle to make a living, organisations chase endless grants, yet the value of arts in our daily lives has never been clearer. ArtsPay is the most exciting innovation in arts funding in generations and offers a sustainable solution.”
To date, ArtsPay has secured more than 1000 clients across Australia and is currently being offered by bar/nightclub venues, retail outlets like Readings Bookstore, and large online businesses such as TryBooking and Cookers, as well as government agencies.
