Australian taxi booking app goCatch ties up with Mint Payment
Australia’s popular taxi booking app on Android and iOS, goCatch, has entered an agreement to partner with ASX-listed company Mint Payments. This partnership will help goCatch to take in-taxi payments for roadside-hailed rides, which are not booked through their mobile app.
The collaboration will start with Sydney for a month and a wider rollout can be expected in the near future. The pilot project will allow a part of goCatch’s 35,000 registered drivers to use Mint’s mobile point-of-sale (mPos) terminals across Sydney. This association has the potential to develop new revenue source for goCatch via an in-cab payments terminal.
“Roughly half of all taxi jobs in Australia are hailed from the street or taxi rank, representing a big opportunity for goCatch to monetise payments for these journeys,” said goCatch chief executive Ned Moorfield in a statement as quoted by The Australian.
The Mint payment terminals will be a pocket-sized card reader that uses the taxi driver’s smartphone or tablet as the electronic fund transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) machine. The terminal supports all the major cards, chip and PIN based credit and debit cards as well as tap-go-technology, reports ZDNet. It can also be self-installed.
The goCatch taxi drivers will earn a commission from fares processed through the terminals. They can also earn incentives with 10 goPoints for every dollar they put through the terminal. The earned goPoints can help the drivers raise their status, which in turn would help them to bid on better jobs.
“Rolling out mobile payment terminals enables us to capture some of that revenue while at the same time providing our drivers with a superior payments solution in their taxis,” Moorfield added.
The foray of goCatch into the $5.4 billion regulated taxi market in 2011 in Sydney with a vision to transform the taxi industry and improve passenger and driver experience. Rival taxi booking app Ingogo has already entered into a partnership with ANZ Bank and payment platform provider Ingenico for launching payment terminals.
According to The Australian Financial Review, the goCatch and Mint partnership is supported by major investors including Alex Turnbull, SEEK co-founder Paul Bassat and and venture capital firm Square Peg, backed by James Packer.
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