Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Mayor Michael Bloomberg riding together in a cab outfitted with Square’s payment system.
After closing out a deal to implement its technology in Starbucks’ stores across the nation, mobile payment company Square may be taking to the streets to find more revenue streams. Literally.
Late Monday, private company expert PrivCo said that the San Francisco-based startup and the city of New York will be announcing an official partnership with the city of New York to implement Square’s payment systems across the city’s cabs. If negotiations are completed as expected, said New York City-based PrivCo, the partnership may be announced as early as this month.
“This shows that any taxi cab anywhere in the world can now take credit card payments,” said PrivCo CEO Sam Hamadeh. “New York City is the biggest taxi cab market in the world and this legitimizes that mobile payments are here to stay.”
A Squares spokesperson said that the company has “a positive, productive relationship” with New York City’s Taxi & Limousine Commission, but did not confirm if a deal was in place, noting that PrivCo’s report had “no basis in fact.”
Allan Fromberg a spokesperson with the taxi and limousine commission said, “There is no truth whatsoever to PrivCo’s reported statements regarding a deal in the works between Square and the TLC.”
The supposed deal, if it goes through, would be another success for Square, which announced a lucrative partnership to enable payments across the coffee giant’s 7,000 U.S. stores in August. Square, valued at $3.25 billion in its latest round of funding, will launch its payment system in some Starbucks’ stores beginning in November.
Since March, Square has piloted new technology in a program with New York City’s Taxi & Limousine Commission. Featuring an iPad connected to a credit card swiper, the new devices in the pilot cabs allowed for riders to swipe their cards at any time and enter the amount later, as first reported by the New York Times.
According to a report from PrivCo, 1,000 cabs will be equipped with Square’s iPad card readers over the next year at an upfront cost of $1 million to the mobile payment company. Hamadeh said that based on rough calculations the company’s revenues, which were estimated at $42.5 million in 2011, would be boosted by $15 million from the deal over that time period. New York City has over 13,000 cabs in operation.
Last week, Square cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg were pictured riding together in a taxi outfitted with the new payment rig.
“Taking a Square cab with Mayor @MikeBloomberg,” tweeted Dorsey on Sep. 30.
Dorsey debuted this year on The Forbes 400, which ranks the nation’s wealthiest individuals. With a net worth of $1.1 billion, the Square CEO derives most of his net worth from the mobile payment company he cofounded in 2009, not Twitter, where he now sits as executive chairman.
Square should come up with a driver app as well.
Shares of VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY), a rival provider of card readers in city cabs, sank as much as 8.5 percent to $28.22 in trading today after the New York Post reported that a deal with Square was near completion, citing researcher PrivCo.
Strangely enough, “wall street protesters” are called occupiers . I think, these are true American heroes – people passionte about the future of their country . They are ready to loose their lives when fighing Golliath . What everybody don’t understand is that American occupiers are the ones who made it shameful to be called American , those who made America being hated all over the world . It these billioniers who don’t know the meaning of hard labor ,of daily struggle and suffering. I,personally can call myself a new “thousandier” I could save one thousand after working 30 years .
Square should pay through its nose to get a lucrative deal like this .Drivers should receive a stock option and retire millionaires .
Moneyrunners are moneyrunners. They run the money, and history shows that the moneyrunners wind up with what? The money! Once the moneyrunners got hold of NYC taxicab industry, with permission from TLC and a nod from Major Moneyrunner himself, Michael Bootbirter, it was all over for the NYC cabbies, the NYC individual medallion owners who will do what they are TOLD, and through losing any control over their own business, will make zillionaires out of these moneyrunner skyboys. America’s dawdling economy is significantly affected by the moneyrunners taking probably 20% of out America’s economy. Forcibly inserting itself into every money transfer available, grabbing a part of every transaction, collecting all types of proprietary information, and, thus, wielding control over that industry. It’s getting so that you can’t sell your neighbor a $20 table from your attic without the moneyrunners grabbing a fee, says your neighbor, can I pay with my card? Who is promoting this method of payment around America and around the world, none other than the moneyrunners who have a thousand new ways everyday to prevent A from paying $20 to B from conducting the transaction without them paying a part. I’d like to see every American start refusing to use their ‘ pay card ‘ and these moneyrunning vultures take a nosedive! But it is not likely with Bootberter in charge.
Is Square’s payment systems or any other GPS are solar-storm proof? We have more and more failures with the Credit Cards. You and I would be a millionaire what cabdrivers losing with that system. No cabdriver should lose any money with credit-card payments!
NYC taxi has always been a mini reflection of the future of the United States . Waves of immigrants started with taxi bussiness, making its influence and spreading their ideas on a whole country after a while . Massive syber attack on this industry makes me think about the future which awaits the entire world . Would it be possible to achieve what nobody could do before -control the entire planet, making sure all money are flowing one direction, every person recorded and their abilities utilized ,all to serve one purpose making the empire more powerful .It’s a scary thought, but as things develop in the industry where everybody was proud of their independence more and more it becomes a sad reality.
The right future will exist for all of us, if we care about that today! Unfortunately most people delaying that, hoping that next week or next month or next year will be better time. Think about that for a moment, that’s why everything piles-up for huge problems! It’s in the right minds, beautiful moments created, and use that energy today! With that mentality, we will be thriving for a better future!
Food channel has a show called “restuarant impossible” where shef Robert Irvine comes to a dying place and by “magic” turns the things around . TLC needs a person like this. We could have our own sports team, stadium, medical clinics . We could sign huge contracts with medical, pharmacutical and car manufacturing giants . We could be a world recognized company , with own clothing line, appartament complexes, instead all we got here are poor like dogs drivers
Interesting historical facts . At the beginning of second world war red army tried to fight German tanks with horses and rifles . Four years later it had 50,000 top notch jet fighters ,tanks which surpassed “Panzas” and mobile rocket lounchers”Katushas”basically whipping out an unbeatable army . Human will has no borders .Today’s drivers are disorganized, used by everyone group of people, tommorow it will crush the unbreakable walls!