Taxi app startup deploys its own payment terminals

Disruptive payment terminal lets ingogo customers pay with plastic

In another attack on the traditional taxi payment model, the Australian startup ingogo is placing its own payment terminals into cabs to process payments from its mobile app.

The payment terminals will let passengers pay directly with all their major credit cards, using contactless, EFTPOS chip & PIN, magstripe and virtual wallets. Before, ingogo customers paid through a card stored in the app or by using cash or EFTPOS. The options were not available in a single terminal.

The system was developed by ingogo in partnership with ANZ bank and payment provider Ingenico. It is compliant with Europay, MasterCard and Visa security. The payment terminal can also process non-ingogo payments.

The startup recently completed a 30-day trial of the terminals with 250 drivers who processed more than $1 million in payments. Ingogo said it will roll out thousands of the terminals across Australia over the next 12 months.

Payments using credit cards carry a 10 per cent surcharge, while payments through the ingogo app carry an 8 percent transaction fee. There is also a $1.80 charge for using the app to book the cab.

Hamish Petrie, the startup’s founder, has positioned the launch of payment terminals as another challenge to the taxi industry. He said the service “places ingogo in further direct competition with Cabcharge.”

“It replicates a platform similar to an estimated $10,000 worth of hardware Cabcharge install into one taxi, at a fraction of the cost. Plus, our app has the added benefit of virtual mobile wallet payments and, of course, our booking feature, which lets passengers see exactly where your taxi is on a map and puts you directly in touch with the driver.”

Taxi booking apps have met with resistance from Cabcharge and the taxi industry since they eliminates the need for dispatchers.

Even so, ingogo and its competitors GoCatch and Uber have all recently received large amounts of funding from Silicon Valley and other investors.

In late August, ingogo announced the completion of a $1 million funding round. One week earlier, Uber closed a $258 million financing round including funding from Google. And in September, GoCatch announced $3 million in its latest investment round.

Follow Adam Bender on Twitter: @WatchAdam

Follow Techworld Australia on Twitter: @Techworld_AU

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Tags disruptionmobile paymentcabchargeStartupmobile apptaxicab

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