Wireless, Cashless Payments Come To The World Of Taxi Drivers
biz.yahoo.com
Thursday September 6, 7:00 pm ET
Right after Labor Day, a slew of New York City taxi drivers protested plans to roll out credit- and debit-card payment systems in the back seats of all 13,000 medallion cabs.
They feared they would lose money on tips if passengers didn't pay in cash.
But proponents, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, outnumbered the protesters.
Supporters say the ongoing program will better serve customers and actually help bring in more money for cabbies.
How? By speeding up turnovers and generating higher tips than normal from cash-strapped riders.
It certainly will help bring in more revenue for San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone Holdings (NYSE:PAY). The company is a leading maker of point-of-sale terminals and wireless systems.
VeriFone -- in partnership with MasterCard's (NYSE:MA) PayPass -- was the first firm approved to provide the wireless systems in New York's cabs. The systems make use of an ATM-style interface to accept credit and debit fare payments.
The company's back-seat screen monitors also deliver news, weather and tidbits on restaurants, night life, hotels and other attractions. An extra bonus: Like billboards, they bring in revenue-generating ad money.
"Every year, we find a free ride on a new segment of the economy that is going electronic," said Doug Bergeron, VeriFone's chief executive.
A few years ago, it was a big drive by fast-food chains. Cashless pay-at-the-table systems have been gaining steam more recently.
"Who knows what it will be next year?" Bergeron said.
The company's bread-and-butter business remains landline-based point-of-sale, or POS, terminals, especially in the U.S. But contactless wireless products are its fastest- growing business, and a higher-margin one at that.
After the market closed Thursday, VeriFone reported earnings of 42 cents a share for the third quarter ended July 31, beating Wall Street's consensus by two cents. The firm earned 28 cents in the same period last year. Revenue in the quarter rose 57% to $231.9 million.
The company said it expects to post another banner quarter in the fourth. It raised its full-year guidance to $1.59 to $1.60 per share, compared with Thomson Financial's current estimate of $1.56.
International wireless sales have been especially strong. One reason: In areas such as Mexico, Brazil, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, wireless connections are cheaper than landlines. Some governments, notably Mexico's, have been promoting cashless payments.
In addition, a growing middle class in largely cash-based developing nations is fueling demand for plastic.
"Two years ago, wireless was only 10% of our total revenue of $500 million. Today it is 30% of $900 million," Bergeron said.
Last year's acquisition of Israel's Lipman Electronic Engineering boosted VeriFone's wireless capabilities. It also gave it a stronger presence in Western Europe, Turkey and Asia-Pacific, including China.
"With Lipman, they are the undisputed leader in the global market," said Aravind Vanchesan, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
VeriFone's chief rivals are France-based Ingenico and to a lesser extent Phoenix-based Hypercom (NYSE:HYC), which has been losing market share for the past two years.
About 75% of VeriFone's sales are to banks, which in turn provide the systems to retailers. VeriFone's systems -- which are manufactured by low-cost third parties -- are integrated and bundled with bank processing services.
VeriFone sells to just about every major bank in the world that is involved in credit card processing. In addition, new innovations by card issuers such as MasterCard "require our involvement," Bergeron says.
Besides New York's cab program, MasterCard's PayPass system was the lead player in the rollout of cashless payment systems in Philadelphia's taxi cabs starting last year. VeriFone was a partner in that program as well. About 12% of Philly's cab fares are now paid with plastic, Bergeron says.
The remaining 25% of VeriFone's customers are oil companies (think gas pumps), government agencies and large global retailers that buy direct, such as TJX (NYSE:TJX), Walgreen (NYSE:WAG), Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD)and Albertsons.
The U.S. POS terminal market is a mature one. Even wireless cashless systems in U.S. fast-food units have about a 90% penetration rate, analysts say. But fast-food expansion outside the U.S. will provide further growth, Bergeron says.
VeriFone intends to keep sales growing in the U.S. by bringing out new products, including outdoor payment systems and pay-at-the-pump technology that protects consumers' identities.
Bergeron calls VeriFone "a software company in disguise." Of the $60 million spent on research and development this past year, he says, $55 million was in new software that runs on its systems or servers.
"Does Motorola (NYSE:MOT) download new software on old phones? No. They sell you a new phone. Software gets delivered on new devices," said Bergeron. "We live on that model. New encryption and capabilities result in new system sales."
In parts of Europe, South America and Asia, new security protocols to limit fraud might spur growth of new "smart card"-type terminals, Vanchesan says.
VeriFone makes terminals that use smart cards as well as magnetic swipe cards, which are ubiquitous in the U.S., where fraud isn't as much of a problem.
Even so, new security standards in the U.S. are driving some growth in new POS systems.
"The question is, what level of terminal replacements (is required)," said Robert Dodd, an analyst at Morgan Keegan. "A lot of (security) work being done is back-office stuff. So merchants may be able to get by without replacing terminals." |
