Ingogo has announced it will expand beyond cab bookings with a payment and accounting platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Ingogo currently provides payment terminals into cabs to process payments from its mobile app. It will expand this to SMEs where they will have no monthly terminal rental fees, can receive next-day payment settlements 365 days a year and automatically create and send Xero invoices, Ingogo said.
Ingogo’s mobile payment platform lets customers pay directly with all their major credit cards, using contactless, EFTPOS chip & PIN, magstripe and virtual wallets. Bluetooth technology connects the terminal to the Ingogo app, available for iOS and Android devices.
That system was developed by Ingogo in partnership with ANZ bank and payment provider Ingenico. It is compliant with Europay, MasterCard and Visa security.
Hamish Petrie, founder and managing director of Ingogo, said the company is targeting SMEs who find it cost prohibitive to run traditional payment terminals.
“We found a gap in the market as it’s an area banks don't service well,” he said. “So we are growing a new market with our technology.”
“The platform will allow owners to save wasted time chasing clients for payments, ultimately improving their cash flow and allowing them to better focus on doing business. It will be a very affordable solution, without monthly terminal rental fees and merchant accounts.”
The soon-to-be-ASX-listed company has partnered with Xero to provide the service. Ingogo said it will show a minimum-viable product at Xerocon this week, complete a deeper integration with Xero in September, and release a beta shortly thereafter. The full commercial version is set to launch in early 2015.
PayPal has also begun targeting SMEs, recently releasing a payment terminal called PayPal Here that allows businesses to accept chip and PIN payments using a mobile device.
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The Ingogo announcement also follows the entrance of US startup Stripe in Australia. Stripe can be integrated into an app or website and requires an existing Australian bank account.
Adam Bender covers startup and business tech issues for Techworld and is the author of dystopian sci-fi novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam
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