Smartpay shares climb 15% after launch of taxi booking app

Smartpay shares climb 15% after launch of taxi booking app

By Suze Metherell

Nov. 24 (BusinessDesk) - Shares of Smartpay climbed 15 percent after the listed payments terminal supplier launched its taxi booking and payment mobile app as a precursor to a roll-out across the Tasman.

The Blue Bubble app stores the user's credit card details and allows users to book and pay for cabs as it looks to capitalise on the success of booking app Uber, which allows for users to rideshare, and has been disrupting the global industry, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. It has been adopted by Taxi Charge, New Zealand's largest taxi fleet, and Smartpay plans to launch the app in Australia before Christmas.

"It marks our entry into the rapidly growing taxi booking and mobile wallet payments space," managing director Bradley Gerdis said. "Being chosen as the sole provider to the largest fleet in New Zealand underpins our position as the largest provider of taxi payments technology in the New Zealand market."

The shares gained 3 cents to 23 cents, and have fallen some 38 percent since the start of the year. In October the shares surged to a two-year high of 39 cents after fund manager Milford Asset Management disclosed a 6.3 percent stake in a bet on the potential for the restructured Eftpos company to repeat its New Zealand success in Australia.

In September, the company told shareholders it was turning to the Australian taxi market for margin growth as its current relationship with an Australian taxi payments provider supplying Smartpay's terminals directly to drivers will end on Dec. 31. To make up for the loss, the company is launching Smartpay Taxis to participate directly in Australian taxi payments rather than as a wholesaler.

The Australian taxi market is undergoing significant structural change, driven primarily by regulatory change, with the state of Victoria mandating a 50 percent drop in the $10 surcharge on card payments in February and other states set to follow, Gerdis said. Smartpay's taxi payment system has a mobile booking app for smartphones and in-car payment terminals.

(BusinessDesk)

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