One of the most annoying and embarrassing features of traveling with a group is paying up at a restaurant.  Separate checks?  Did everyone ante up the right amount?  She has two drinks and I had none…. (Okay, I admit, it’s often women who do this.)

It’s not just dining out.  The problem of booking and paying for things as a group—things like theater tickets, tours, or group lessons is usually a headache, no matter how organized the group.  One interesting alternative to this hassle is a new service called WePay.com The online service lets groups settle expenses without the hassle and without toting around large amounts of cash. It allows people to set up shared online banking accounts and simplify the process of collecting and spending, group money.

Here’s how it works:  You open an account, add everyone who will pay in, and set the amount due.  When all have paid in, We Pay allows one person, the group administrator, to spend the money via a prepaid debit card, electronic transfer or a request that WePay send out a paper check. Group members can see who paid or not and make comments on the account site and shame nonpayers into paying, which, depending on your sense of humor, could be a lot of fun.

Of course, WePay makes money from your transactions. It collects fees from money deposited into the accounts: 50 cents per deposit when the account only accepts collections from bank accounts and 3.5 percent of the deposits when the account accepts collections from both bank accounts and credit cards.  Still, paying the tab in such a hassle-free fashion might be worth it.   www.wepay.com