YouPay uses online platform to help flood victims replace damaged products via direct links to online shopping carts
Brisbane start-up YouPay has launched a flood appeal to help people in Queensland and NSW get back on their feet, using the company’s new online cart sharing platform.
Flood victims simply fill a cart with a product they need at a participating retailer’s website, then create a YouPay link that can be directly shared with other people who can pay for them.
Friends and community support groups who know flood victims can create links on their behalf, while generous members of the public can pitch in and pay.
All the affected families and those who have created links for them need to do is post the links with a brief description of their situation on a dedicated 2022 Flood Appeal Facebook page set up by YouPay at www.facebook.com/groups/
People viewing the page can then click on a link to help a family out. Purchasers can use any of the payment methods the retailer usually offers, and the affected family will then receive their order in exactly the same way as if they’d bought it themselves. There is also confidentiality built in, so purchasers cannot see the address of the person they are buying for.
It’s recommended that families and friends create a separate link for each product they need, as purchasers pay for the entire cart at once.
One retailer offering YouPay is Appliance Central, which provides useful items such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners and microwaves. Other retailers include furniture and homewares suppliers, as well as clothing, baby products, and health and beauty outlets. Participating retailers are listed on the Facebook page.
YouPay Founder and CEO Matt Holme said, “As a Brisbane-based business we have not escaped the realities of the floods, and know that many people have lost everything, including essential items.
“We saw straight away how we could help by using our platform to ensure people can get what they need to get their lives back on track.
“This is just our way of doing what we can as part of a much larger effort to help people recover, and we will add new retailers to the Facebook list as soon as we can bring them on board.”
