Cadmus Signs Payment Terminal Contract

20 October 2004

Cadmus Signs Payment Terminal Contract for Taxi Fleets Nationwide

Payment solutions company, Cadmus Technology Ltd (NZX: CTL) has signed an agreement with TaxiCharge New Zealand Ltd for one of New Zealand’s largest orders of payment terminals.

The project will see over 2000 terminals installed in taxis nationwide, with roll-out now underway in the 700-strong Auckland Co-Op taxi fleet. Thirteen other taxi companies around the country will also install Cadmus Smart Taxi technology in a total equipment and services contract worth nearly $2 million. As part of the overall system Cadmus will also provide a range of back office transaction processing services via its host and network connections.

Wellington Combined Taxis and Gold Band Taxis in Christchurch are already operating the Cadmus technology in a contract with TaxiCharge, an independent taxi billing and expense management company.

A further three taxi companies, Palmerston North Taxis, Nelson City Taxis and City Taxis in Dunedin are currently trialing a Cadmus-provided GPRS-based EFTPOS system, and TaxiCharge will roll this terminal out to other fleets when it is satisfied that the total system is fully available at all times and on all trips.

The aim of the project is to provide full secure EFTPOS functionality over Vodafone and Telecom’s GPRS and CDMA networks (both of which are designed for data applications) rather than using the traditional mobile voice network. In hilly cities like Auckland and Wellington the older network is not capable of providing an acceptable level of service.

“When a customer enters a cab expecting to be able to pay by EFTPOS, that’s what must occur, no matter where the ride ends up,” says general manager of TaxiCharge, Mark Lines. “Customers will not accept having to travel back up their drive and around the corner in order to make a payment.”

Shareholder partners in TaxiCharge include Auckland Co-Op Taxis, A1 Cabs in Whangarei, North Shore Taxis, Wellington Combined Taxis, Hutt and City Taxis, Porirua Taxis, Hamilton Taxis, New Plymouth Taxis, Palmerston North Taxis, three Christchurch based companies Blue Star Taxis, Gold Band Taxis and First Direct Taxis, Queenstown Taxis, Blenheim Taxis, Nelson City Taxis, Dunedin Taxis and City Taxis, of Dunedin. Lines says the Cadmus developed payment terminal installed in the thirteen fleets will bring major benefits to the taxi companies, 11,000 TaxiCharge customers around the country and credit card users.

“The new technology introduces improved security in the transaction process and reduces the possibility of fraudulent transactions,” says Lines.

The TaxiCharge billing system provides a comprehensive expense management system for regular business users of taxis and, at the same time, allows the taxi companies to speed up passenger transactions, reduce paperwork and concentrate more on their core business of providing a premium service to customers.

TaxiCharge provides customers with a single monthly consolidated tax invoice for taxi usage, which significantly cuts paperwork and processing of fare receipts, along with other reporting procedures including journey and passenger details.

ENDS

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