Square moves into the taxi (SQ)

Square will begin processing payments made in taxis across Washington, DC, as part of a move on behalf of the city to more effectively compete with ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, according to Bloomberg.

Taxi drivers will replace meters with a smartphone or tablet running one of a selection of previously approved apps, which will leverage Square to process payments, send receipts, and more. The city won’t make any money off of this, according to Engadget, and Square has reportedly lowered its per-transaction processing fee as a move to ink the deal.

Taxis are a potentially large market for Square.

When mobile-point-of-sale (mPOS) devices first entered the market, they were extremely disruptive, because they provided an attractive, accessible, and affordable ways for merchants of all types to begin accepting card payments easily.

Now that consumers expect cards to be accepted everywhere they shop, demand for the devices is as high as ever.

That has pushed mPOS firms to recalibrate their strategies. They're increasingly targeting small retailers, moving beyond the individual sellers that spurred their initial growth. They're also

The shift to chip-enabled payment cards in the US has been a big driver of business for mPOS firms, because their devices are far less expensive than those offered their legacy competitors. That’s leading new types of sellers to mPOS firms — but it’s coming at a loss, because card readers are a great acquisition channel, but a poor profit generator. Software and services are stepping in to fill the gap.

Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile point-of-sale that forecasts growth of the mPOS market through 2021 and examines the trends that are pushing merchants to adopt the technology. It looks at how mPOS providers are competing for cost-conscious sellers and details the strategies they're pursuing to capitalize on demand for their solutions. And it explores how legacy POS firms are responding and providing mobile solutions of their own.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

In full, the report:

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

Square moves into the taxi (SQ)

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!