Toronto startup tackles 'guilt tipping' with app

A Toronto startup is taking aim at what it calls "guilt tipping"—the discomfort of deciding how much to tip while servers watch and other customers wait in line.

TipWise, launched three weeks ago by co-founder Muaad Mehad, is a web app that lets diners scan a QR code or NFC nameplate at their table, order and pay on their phone, then receive a tip prompt 15 minutes later in private. "When you go to a restaurant, there's a screen angled at you, you have servers watching, [there are] people behind you waiting, and you feel kind of forced to tip," Mehad explained.

The move targets a real frustration. Tipping prompts in Canada have climbed sharply—many now request 20-25 percent or higher, even at quick-service restaurants where customers haven't yet received their food. A 2025 H&R Block study found nearly 60 percent of Canadians say they're tipping more than they were a year ago, despite affordability concerns.

Mehad, who spent years in Toronto's restaurant industry, has witnessed prompts asking for 30 percent. "We're already paying heavy taxes, we're potentially in a recession in Toronto, the average Canadian is earning about $3,500 a month after taxes," he said. "For them to go ahead and tip 30 percent can be difficult."

Two GTA restaurants have signed on so far—Craves Bites & Cafe in Scarborough and LaRosh—with the seven-person team in beta testing. The app sidesteps the pressure that makes tipping feel coercive rather than voluntary.