Rooam Acquires Tally; Launches Chicago Operations this Winter

Rooam, a payment platform for the nightlife and hospitality industry, announced it will launch operations in Chicago this winter. After its acquisition of the Tally payment app, which allows users to track their tabs, complete transactions and set default tips, Rooam will grow its market share and increase the number of restaurant and bar locations offered on its payment platform.

With Rooam's successful launch and increased popularity in Washington, D.C., the company chose to expand its operations in Chicago to take advantage of the city being a hub for nightlife and to streamline the way people pay for drinks during a night out. The mobile app is now available for free download on the App Store and Google Play.

Rooam was introduced to restaurants and bars in the Washington metropolitan area in October 2016. The payment platform currently has more than 330 of the District's hottest bars and restaurant locations including The Anthem, Marvin and Oyamel. With the acquisition of Tally, Rooam's technology platform will be adopted by major restaurant groups in Chicago, including 8 Hospitality Group and Third Coast Hospitality Group.

In July 2017, Rooam completed a $2.1 million seed round to propel the company's expansion, support winter operations in Chicago and integrate with cloud-based point of sale (POS) systems. The acquisition of Tally will provide new and current users the ability to take advantage of Rooam's multi-city feature allowing them to toggle between locations based in Chicago and the District.

Rooam's technology allows guests to quickly pay for food and drinks directly from their smartphones, eliminating the need to wait or catch a bartender's attention. Once users open the app, choose their location and open their tab, they're ready to pay with the bartender or server immediately. Once users are ready to leave, they review their bill and pay with one click of the close tab feature.

With more than 30 percent of card transactions becoming contactless, mobile payment solutions like Masterpass and Apple Pay have become popular options for consumers. To increase security of the Rooam payment app, the company has added full Apple Pay integration and requires touch ID or a unique passcode to authorize all purchases.