Swaypay: Not Boring Investment Memo

Swaypay wants retailers to pay you instead of paying Google, Facebook, and Amazon.

I have 30 days to post a picture of myself wearing the shirt to Instagram

Swaypay is Ecommerce Robinhood. I believe that anything that takes money from Facebook and Google and gives it to shoppers and retailers will win.

Previously, it was hard to imagine a retailer giving their valuable checkout space to an unproven startup.

Today, Swaypay’s business model is straightforward. Retailers pay Swaypay 5% on every transaction that goes through Swaypay. Here’s how it works:

It also plans to implement a public-facing SwayScore that travels with shoppers wherever they shop. If you remember Klout, it’s like that but way better. Klout gave users a score based on their Twitter activity, and monetized by letting brands run campaigns in which they rewarded high-Klout users with prizes.

The product is dead simple. Shoppers shop online like normal and when they get to the checkout page, they’re presented with the Swaypay Checkout button next to the regular checkout button.

If I don’t post, I pay back my discount.

For the action to be frictionless, it needs to sit in the checkout flow.