Flux’s New Service Makes Receipts Easier to Handle

If you’ve ever run your own business, or you’re just the type who itemizes taxes, then you know the value of receipts. Paper receipts mean savings—like coupons for taxes—and being able to keep these on hand makes it all the more possible to handle tax preparation.

The growth of mobile payments systems, though, may make it a little harder to handle all these receipts. That’s a point that Flux is working to fix, as it’s recently started trials for a service that will take paper receipts and convert them to mobile data.

Right now, Flux is starting small, offering the service with two retail chains—Bel-Air and Eat—and the Monzo digital bank. Bank statements right now generally only show the retailer name, the total amount spent, and the date. Not bad, given the circumstances, but also somewhat lacking in information available.

With Flux’s new service, customers will be able to see individual items bought, and related information like loyalty points gained as a result of purchase.

Flux is currently a part of the 2017 Barclays Accelerator program, and has raised $120,000 in funding from a connection with the Techstars operation. Flux’s founder and CEO Matty Cusden-Ross noted that it was “completely insane” that mobile payments systems were still being connected to “…a 100 BC paper receipt.”

That’s useful for business users, of course, but also for those who want to keep mobile payments systems in the picture yet stick to a budget. The Flux system will help provide new value going forward for those who need the information receipts provide.

Considering how much of the world’s businesses are small businesses, there’s a rational point to bringing out systems that help these operations out. Further, there’s even some report that retailers will be able to take advantage of this system to give non-business users support; businesses will be able to offer push notifications of stamp points available, and get users more engaged in the practice of loyalty programs.

Support for small business, support for tax itemizers, and support for those who just want a better idea of how their loyalty points are doing, the Flux system represents a complete value all along the spectrum.