Giving Car Service Drivers a “Square” Chance to Compete
Giving Car Service Drivers a "Square" Chance to Compete
At the Business Center for New Americans (BCNA), we are always looking for meaningful ways to introduce our clients to new technology that will directly impact their business’ bottom line, as well as try to provide them with technical assistance.
So when client Mohamed Barrie, owner of Porttal Car Service, told us that his car service base was struggling to keep up with the influx of new Green Taxis and Uber vehicles that had recently flooded the market, we found an opportunity to help.
One major competitive advantage 
the Green Taxi and Uber drivers had was that they all accept credit cards, something that Pottal Car Service drivers couldn’t do. Porttal was even turning down business from a local hotel because Porttal itself had stopped accepting credit card payments after realizing that the processing company it had used was grossly overcharging them.
One of the companies that BCNA had honored during our annual Immigrant 
Heritage Week Awards ceremony this year was Square, a mobile payments company that allow small business owners to acceptcredit card payments with their smart phones via Square’s reading device. Porttal Car Service drivers were concerned about whether it would be difficult to set up as well as the fees associated with credit card processing. As a Square user myself, I knew that with a little education many drivers would see the added benefit.
BCNA organized a meeting with Mohamed Barrie and three of his drivers at the Porttal Car Service base in the Brownsville neighborhood 
in Brooklyn to show them how the technology works. Within just a few minutes, we were able to install the app on all four of their smart phones and began testing it. The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, especially when they learned that Square’s fee would be a low 2.75% – only 28 cents on a typical $10 fare – and the rest would be deposited in their bank account by the next day.
As one driver commented, "Now I won’t have to drive people around looking for an ATM so they can pay me." Mohamed Barrie was so impressed he asked us to order 30 more Square readers for him so he could train his entire fleet to accept bank and credit card payments on the go.
For Mohamed and his drivers at Porttal, this small change has already had a big payoff!
BCNA has many ways to help New York’s drivers thrive. To date, BCNA’s special loan program for the NYC TLC’s Street Hail Livery Program has provided loans to 50 clients for a total $125,000. BCNA has also helped over 300 refugee clients purchase vehicles, with loans that match savings of from $2,000- 5,000.
To see how to download and get started with Square, click the video: