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Australian students need never pay for a party bus in cash again.

The startup Tilt, founded in the U.S. in 2012, officially launched in Australia on Tuesday. Targeted at young people, and especially university students, the app aims to help users pool money for activities or gifts through its iOS and Android app.

Unlike public crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Tilt allows people to collect money off friends or their immediate social network, Harrison Uffindell, Tilt's country manager, told Mashable Australia. 

"You can see who chipped in, you can see which friends are going. You can leave comments and upload photos," he said.

With a team of two on the ground, the app undertook a soft launch in Australia in October 2015 and began recruiting university ambassadors across the country — a tactic Tilt has used to spread the word among its target audience.

With around 200 ambassadors now spread throughout Australia, Uffindell said the students were not paid for their spruiking of the service to their peers, but were simply "power users" who wanted to be involved with an exciting startup. "There are a lot of keen students," he said. "Students are always on the look out for the next big thing."

In Australia, sporting clubs and university societies have been using Tilt to sell event tickets, Uffindell said, among more personal projects, like chipping in for a friend's birthday present.

Judging by Tilt's social media presence, which features plenty of spring break-style party shots, students are undoubtably the key audience. Unless you're an adult with a Peter Pan-type mentality.

"Students are a good early focus for us in the market, because Tilt grows really well community by community," Uffindell said.  Still, he thinks its appeal is broader: "People are using Tilt for hens nights, raising money for wedding gifts and to give their parents a holiday," he said.

The app is free to download, and using it to raise money is also free. While there is no advertising, Uffindell said the company earns revenue through its business offering. "Businesses will often use Tilt to engage and reach their users. Typically, doing things to sell tickets to a big event or to sell merchandise," he said. For that service, the company charges a 2.5% commission. 

He said the company also hopes to launch Tilt Pro, its crowdfunding solution, in Australia at some point. In the meantime, the company has raised a fair amount of capital in recent years — more than $67 million (A$89 million), it said in a statement.

While the fact Tilters are sharing personal details with the platform, including their name, university and bank details, may worry parents or university administrators, Uffindell emphasised the company has stringent privacy protections in place. "We don't hold any credit card details on file," he said. "[Security has] been a focus since day one."

If Tilt gets its way, Australian campuses could be cash free in no time.

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