Blackbird makes its case for cryptocurrency in restaurants

The Senate this week voted down a bill that would have created crypto regulations. | Photo: Shutterstock

Could cryptocurrency be the answer to restaurants’ high payment processing costs? 

Ben Leventhal, founder and CEO of restaurant rewards company Blackbird, thinks so. But he’s asking for a little help from Congress.

Leventhal this week testified before a U.S. House subcommittee about the benefits that digital currency could have for small businesses like restaurants. 

He spoke the same day the Senate voted against a landmark bill that would have created a regulatory framework for the crypto industry, which supporters said would have made it easier for crypto businesses to grow and innovate. 

In his testimony, Leventhal outlined restaurants’ historically small profit margins and the impact of credit card processing fees on those margins. According to the National Restaurant Association, these so-called swipe fees are now restaurants’ third largest expense after food and labor.

Cryptocurrency and the blockchain, a digital database that powers crypto transactions, could help lower payment costs for restaurants by cutting out the middlemen that drive up those costs, Leventhal said. 

Crypto payments are a core part of Blackbird’s business model. Members can earn a digital currency called Fly when they spend at participating restaurants and can then use Fly like cash to pay their bill.