How do you handle a friend who always 'forgets' their wallet?
The third time it happens, it's not forgetfulness. Here's how to stop quietly subsidising someone.
Every group has one. They always 'forgot their card'. They'll 'send it later'. They never do. After the third or fourth round you've quietly become their bank. The way to fix it isn't a confrontation — it's to remove the social cost of asking. With a tool that issues a settle-up link at the table, asking for £12 stops being a moment and becomes a tap. Most 'wallet-forgetters' pay just fine once the ask doesn't carry social weight; the few that still don't are telling you something else.
Steps
Worked example
The mate who always forgets
Mark and Joe have been mates 15 years. Joe 'forgets his wallet' twice a month — Mark's covered ~£300 over six months. Mark switches: every time he covers, he taps Send Link in EvenRound right there at the bar. Joe pays in under a minute three times in a row. The fourth time, Joe says 'I'll bank-transfer you' — Mark says 'No worries, the link's there.' Joe pays. Mark has just retired the pattern without a single difficult conversation.
The 'forgotten wallet' pattern is mostly about social friction in asking. Remove the friction — with a one-tap link sent at the table — and 90% of cases sort themselves out.