Ingogo rides taxi success with Xero partnership

Australia taxi app and mobile payment provider ingogo is expanding beyond the taxi industry, with a portable payment and accounting platform aimed at SMEs in partnership with Xero.

The system will integrate the Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) card security compliant mobile payment solution with Xero’s accounting software.

A minimum viable product will be showcased at Xerocon, Australia’s biggest accounting technology conference, which begins in Sydney on Wednesday.

Australia’s mobile payments industry is heating up. Earlier this year US giant Square signalled its intention to launch in Australia, while Brisbane startup Tappr which raised $2 million in seed funding last year, launched its pilot program recently.

Ingogo, which is preparing for an ASX listing, launched its app-based payment platform in October last year and provides wireless terminals in taxis, which process payments.

The startup says it has recorded more than 1.5 million taxi trips in the past 12 months and is forecasting $150 million in payments on the platform in the coming year.

The ingogo payment system uses Bluetooth technology to connect an app to a small portable payment terminal, allowing immediate processing of payments onsite. The service will have no monthly terminal rental fees, and will allow users to receive next day payment settlements 365 days a year as well as streamline their workflow through creating and sending Xero invoices automatically.

Payments from major credit and debit cards will be accepted using technology such as Tap and Go and Paywave, along with full EFTOPS chip and PIN, or magstripe, as well as virtual wallets. It will be available on both Android and iOS.

Ingogo founder Hamish Petrie says the shift is all about growing ingogo’s market.

“Ingogo has disrupted the incumbent payment systems in the taxi industry, the platform we have developed to achieve this is readily applicable for businesses who have found it cost prohibitive to run traditional payment terminals, such as trades and other mobile services,” he says.

“They are businesses that can benefit by automating their accounting work as part of this payment focus. We found a gap in the market as it’s an area banks don’t service well.

“Partnering with Xero on our mobile platforms means we can combine our two technologies to ultimately provide a streamlined accounting and payments system for businesses.”

The beta for the Xero payment integration will be launched by the end of September with a full commercial version set to launch in 2015.

This article was originally published on Startup Smart.