Propinita
Digital tips with QR codes and Mercado Pago. My thesis at Escuela Da Vinci and my first product, from research to launch.
- Role
- Founder · Product, design and engineering
- Period
- 2024 — 2025
- Stack
- Next.js · TypeScript · Chakra UI · Mercado Pago
Demo with sample data, recreated from the product.
01 — The problem
Fewer people carry cash, yet tipping still works like it did 50 years ago.
Waiters, couriers and anyone who partly lives on tips lose money when customers don't carry cash. Propinita started from that question: making a tip as easy as scanning a QR code.
02 — What I did
All of it: research, brand, UX/UI and engineering.
- Sign-up and onboarding designed to be completed on a phone
- Linking each worker's Mercado Pago account
- A personal QR code per worker to receive tips
- A dashboard to see the tips received
03 — Key decisions
Propinita never holds the money
Payments go straight from the tipper to the recipient's Mercado Pago account. Simpler and more trustworthy.
Truly mobile first
The tipper has a phone in hand: the whole flow takes a few taps.
Both sides win
For the worker, money that used to be lost. For the customer, the easiest way to say thanks.
04 — Outcome
Presented as “Goodbye cash, hello gratitude”.
It was my thesis and my first time taking my own idea all the way to a product, with a brand, research and a model built for both sides.