inKind

[lotus125]

Apologies if this isn't the board for this question, but I didn't see another good fit, and I'm particularly interested in thoughts from people in the DC-area restaurant industry.  There's a now-common service/app/restaurant funding company called inKind.  Basically (I think), the company fronts cash to restaurants and then sells restaurant credit, often at a discount (the more credit you buy, the greater the discount).  When diners eat at participating restaurants, they pay the bill through the app; the tip (or service charge) goes on the diner's credit card while the rest off the bill comes out of inKind credit.  Since many DC (and I assume other) restaurants participate, I assume that restaurants like the funding model to get upfront cash and that it may drive traffic.  But how do restaurants experience a diner's use of the app?  Is it good to pay down the credit?  Or does it deprive the restaurant of cashflow, i.e., a large check takes credit off the books but doesn't directly put money into the bank account?  If people with inKind accounts want to be considerate to restaurants, should they use inKind sometimes but just pay by credit card other times?  Or does it not matter?  I'm hoping that some of the industry folks who post here might have thoughts.  Thanks!