Cabconnect, Inc., initially conducting business as Bitspoint, Inc., was incorporated in December 2002. Founded by Izzy Aala, Cabconnect focused on offering products and services to Chicago taxicab companies to process credit cards wirelessly. The City of Chicago mandated that wireless credit card services be offered by all taxicabs by June 1, 2004. Cabconnect focused its sales efforts on taxicab companies perceived to be early adopters of technology. In addition to wireless credit card services, Cabconnect differentiated its solution by including a vehicle-location, GPS, product. Cabconnect’s payment gateway product, Wizard Gateway, included a web portal that simplified the cashiering of these credit card payments for drivers. Automated fraud and error detection and alerting business rules are included as part of the credit card processing solution. Cabconnect partnered with the third largest credit card processing company in the United States, NOVA, to pool all credit card payments by Cabconnect customers.

Cabconnect added a large taxicab company as a customer in July 2004 after the Company’s professional services team reengineered and enhanced the Mobile Knowledge MDT solution to wirelessly process credit cards via Cabconnect’s Wizard Gateway. Wizard Gateway’s cashiering system replaced the prior ineffective cashiering system utilized by this customer. In late 2004, Cabconnect’s management team strategically chose to get out of the hardware business and focus instead on the development and delivery of software solutions and professional services.

 

In accessing back-office processes utilized by taxicab customers, the Cabconnect team realized the need for a cost-effective, accounting product for taxicab affiliations to manage fees due from drivers. Working with a Chicago taxicab affiliation, Cabconnect developed a management accounting product, CabMaestro. CabMaestro allows taxicab companies to manage obligations from affiliate members, such as vehicle lease payments, insurance premiums and other related fees.

 

A logical extension of the credit card processing and management reporting products offered by Cabconnect are corporate electronic swipe card programs, CardOne Loyalty Cards. In today’s existing programs taxicab companies issue coupons and vouchers to companies for use by their employees to pay for fares. These vouchers can easily be replaced by loyalty swipe cards. Utilizing existing equipment already deployed in the taxicabs for credit card processing and tailoring program usage via flexible business rules programs, controlled through the taxicab’s assigned web-portal, cardholder companies can obtain real-time usage reports to better manage, track and control these expenses.

 

Using existing hardware employed in taxicabs for credit card processing via Cabconnect, paper based voucher programs can be replaced by an individual swipe card, a CardOne Contract Transit card, issued to eligible participants. Implementation of such a card program can benefit both the rider’s employer and the taxicab companies. Program managers can set up business rules to ensure eligibility at the time of pickup and track compliance and tailor the program to specific group or rider needs or rules. Reports can be generated in real-time to monitor transactions, track usage, and highlight rules violations. By utilizing GPS data routes can be determined and fare amounts can be audited. Boxes of vouchers and coupons and related manual processes will be replaced by real-time exception alerts, usage reports and electronic invoices resulting in significant program costs savings for the agency, as well as the taxicab companies. Taxicab companies can obtain real time eligibility authorizations, utilize the Cabconnect cashiering system to account for program activities and provide more accurate automatic invoices/reports that can be used for quicker reimbursements from companies.