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    • Semble announces mobile payments to discontinue
      •   Today Semble have announced that they are discontinuing mobile payments as they focus on future technology . Snapper began working with Semble on mobile payments in 2015, and we were impressed with their ability to bring together some of the country’s largest industry giants: Paymark, 2degrees, Spark, Vodafone, ASB and BNZ to work together to deliver New Zealand’s first fully integrated mobile wallet. Semble will remain operational as a business, however they are going to discontinue their current mobile payment services.   So, what does this mean if you are a Snapper Semble Wallet user? Snapper customers can continue to use the service for transport, but with some restrictions. The closure of “mobile payment services” means that the Semble app will be removed from the Google play store, and all app and customer support services from Semble will cease from the 25th August 2016. As a Snapper Semble user, you have a choice to make before this cut-off date: CONTINUE using your Semble SIM with Snapper only (no banking services) Or STOP using your Semble SIM with Snapper (revert to using a physical card to tag on and off)   CONTINUE - You wish to continue to use your Snapper with Semble SIM If you wish to continue to use your Snapper on Semble SIM to tag on and off, please follow the following steps or visit our website for a full step by step guide: Within the Semble app, select that the Snapper card is “ON” Next, uninstall the Semble wallet application Continue to use the Snapper mobile app to check your balance, transaction history, purchase a pass and top up your Snapper on SIM.   STOP - You wish to revert to using a physical card If you no longer wish to tag on with your phone, we can assist you to transfer any existing funds from your Semble SIM to an existing or new Snapper card. Visit our website for a full step by step guide or call us on 0800 555 345 or visit one of the iSITE’s in Wellington, and ask to transfer funds from your SIM onto a card.  Our team is aware of this request and ready to help. Once a SIM has had the balance transferred onto a new Snapper card, you will no longer be able to use it to tag on and off the bus. You will still be able to use the Snapper mobile app to check your balance, transaction history, purchase a pass and to top up your card.  Simply hold the Snapper card to the back of your phone for the app to automatically launch, or tap the app icon.   Next steps. If you are unsure how this change affects you, please call us on 0800 555 345 or email us at feedback@snapper.co.nz. The team is standing by and ready to help. Please also check out our frequently asked questions. To the team at Semble – from one Kiwi company to another – we acknowledge your achievements, and are sad to see you leave mobile payment services. We are proud of our partnership, and wish you the very best on your future technology endeavours. For our customers, we have been working with Semble to minimise the impact to your service, but we appreciate your understanding as we work through the change, and start to investigate new technologies and options for the future.

    • Pokemon prefer public transport – we have the proof…
      • Two weeks ago, I’d never heard of Pokemon Go. Last week it seemed to be all people could talk about on social media but it didn’t really hit my radar until yesterday… Two strapping young Snapper developers shot past the marketing department at a pace that was almost cause for a health and safety warning e-mail. I had never seen developers move so quickly – so what had gotten them so excited? I mean, the Snapper office is obviously an exciting place but we’re not usually ones for team exercise. An accusatory voice piped up behind us “Ha! There’s a Pokemon in the office isn’t there?!” Come again? A Pokemon in the office? I had to know more. So as our two developers-turned-Pokemon-hunters sheepishly returned to their desks, I got my Google on. For my fellow living-in-a-cave-on-mars citizens, here’s the low down: Pokemon Go is a game, in the form of an app, where you physically hunt Pokemon using the GPS system and camera on your phone – if you want to be all flash about it, the technical term for this is “Augmented Reality”.  Here’s a good place to look if you need more info or if you want to jump on the band-wagon. Just to give you some perspective on just how big this craze is, according to Forbes, by 10 July it was about to overtake Twitter in terms of daily active users. And it’s so far only been rolled out in three countries (New Zealand, Australia and the U.S.) Now, this all sounds like harmless fun right? I thought so too until my Googling uncovered countless news articles of people behaving in ways that they normally wouldn’t, when in pursuit of the elusive Pokemon. Tales of multi-car pile ups (albeit some proven to be hoaxes), cars abandoned when they’ve run out of fuel on a Pokemon Go marathon, and this tweet where even the long arm of the law won’t stand between this Pokemon enthusiast and a catch. Luckily, here in Wellington, we don’t have to risk life or limb with all this using of cellphones whilst driving lark – why? Because, as one of our fellow Snappers discovered this week, our Pokemon are smart –  they catch the bus. Like this little pink Clefairy.  That’s right, I totally know the names of (some of) them now. So why not give it a go on your daily commute? The app is free to download on both Apple and Android – and next time you see someone seemingly thrusting their phone at thin air, it’s probably not a psychotic episode, there’s most likely a Pikachu evading capture! If you happen to capture some share-worthy screenshots around our beautiful city’s public transport network, please feel free to share them with us on our Facebook page.

    • Wellington Cable Car closed 7 June- 31 July
      • Our dear friends at the Wellington Cable Car have asked us to pass on the following information regarding their up coming makeover! The Wellington Cable Car will be closed from 7 June to 31 July 2016 to undertake a major equipment upgrade. A replacement bus service will operate during the shutdown between Lambton Quay and Kelburn via The Terrace and Victoria University’s Kelburn Campus. The buses will cost $2 one way, cash only. No Snapper Card, Victoria Inter-campus pass or multi-trip passes accepted. SuperGold Cards can be used for off peak travel. For further information please contact 472 2199 or info@wellingtoncablecar.co.nz. Visit the Wellington Cable Car site or click on the flyer below for more information:  

    • Working at Snapper
      •     ‘Let them eat cake!’ said a French princess when told of the bread shortage among the peasants of her realm (it was not Marie Antoinette, as frequently cited).  It’s also the cry of our own CEO, Miki.  In fact, it’s written into the staff induction pack, that all staff have to supply cake in the week of their birthday.  As we number more than 30 now, there’s cake most weeks. And on weeks when there are no birthdays, there’s Chris’ mum.  Chris is one of our developers, and his mum (a baker extraordinaire) is everyone’s mum.  Really.  We sent her flowers and a card on Mother’s Day and everything! Today my contract at Snapper wraps up.  Cake (and Chris’ mum)  are two of the most enduring memories I’ll have of the place – they’ll endure in my heart and on my waistline.  It seems a good time to reflect on what it’s like to work here. Like many small companies, Snapper is all about the people.  They’re particularly driven by getting the cultural fit right.  I had five interviews before I was hired.  I thought that was a lot, but it’s almost standard here. So, what is the culture like?  I would say ‘enthusiastic’ is the best adjective.  I know people like to use the word ‘passionate’ these days, but passionate implies a certain intractability that the people at Snapper don’t have.  In fact, they are the opposite of intractable – welcoming and embracing change.  This leads to a pretty fast moving environment, so you need to be able to change focus quickly, while still remaining enthusiastic about what you’re doing.  It’s actually the secret to Snapper’s success – being the plucky little fast-moving upstart in an industry of long-established big players. I like the openness of Snapper – both physically and culturally.  An open plan office allows you to see everyone and talk to anyone you want.  I sit next to the CFO, Mike.  Mike is circumspect and serious.  I am not.  I talk a lot.  Mike does not.  Mike is focused and athletic.  I am not.  In any of the other companies I’ve worked at, putting a marketer next to the CFO would have been a disaster.  But at Snapper it works.  Well it works for me anyway – maybe Mike is off rocking in a corner right now… Our marketing team of three is tight-knit and busy.  We do much more than just marketing – finding ourselves involved in user acceptance testing, data analysis and product development.  This is par-for-the-course for teams at Snapper. It’s the perfect place to get things done by doing them yourself and learn new skills in the process.  Again, adaptability and openness is key here. So, on this, my last day, what were the highlights of my time here? Cake (and Chris’ mum – mainly because of cake) Getting a cute cat video posted within a security blog and a David Bowie lyric in a blog about retail terminals Sourcing Snapper-shaped helium balloons to form a flying school of fish over our exhibition stand Girls’ night out – quite a small group, as the place is overun with boys My awesome team.  Nina and Bella rock! Mentioning ‘herpes’ in a transport industry white paper – it probably won’t make the final cut, so I mention it again here. And the lowlights? Coming to the office every day via a mirrored lift that showed me the back of my hair – I preferred blissful ignorance thanks Having a fancy cappuccinno machine at my disposal, and still being unable to make a decent coffee That’s the lowdown on working here folks.  I’d recommend it if you’re enthusiastic and adaptable.  And particularly if you’re female – we could use a boost in girl-power. And with that, I bid you a fond farewell my fishy friends…

    • Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…
      •     In the coming weeks you may notice that the Snapper terminals in retailers have changed.  We’ll be replacing the old Snapper lilypad-style reader (connected to the EFTPOS terminal) with a more standard payment terminal.  This is the same payment terminal that is already used by retailers to top up calling cards and mobile phone balances. So why change?  Well, the new terminals offer a number of advantages for you, and for our retailers. More places to get your Snapper fix - The technology is newer, and more widely used by retailers.  This means that we will be looking to get even more Snapper retailers for you to top up at in the future. As before, just look out for the Snapper sign! Do more at the store - We’re adding some new functionality to the terminals.  You’ll be able to collect refunds from the retailer terminal, instead of having to rock up to a Snapper Service Centre or an iSite.  Also, your top-up receipt will display your balance and recent transaction history.  Handy, that. Happy retailers = happy customers - Using a terminal that retailers already have is better for your local store owner as they no longer have to lease a bespoke Snapper terminal. Win-win! Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be trialling the new terminals at a few stores.  This is so we can be sure they work well, and that the service is not degraded in any way.  This also gives us a chance to sort out the training of retailers so they’re all set when the new terminals roll out. If you regularly top up at a retailer, you might notice a slightly different process once the new terminals are rolled out.  Your local retailer can help you through this the first time.  After that, it should be a breeze. For details of where to top up your Snapper, keep an eye on this handy map.  We’ll be adding new retailers as they come on.  

    • How to protect your stuff from crooks and opportunists
      •                         A number of the software developers at Snapper attended KiwiCon late last year.  This is an IT security conference (i.e. a hacker’s conference), so we were pretty excited about what the team would report back to the rest of us. Would we be regaled with tales of daring bank heists via virtual secret passages?  Or perhaps online identity theft using Facebook profiles, and leaving the victim liable for hundreds of broken hearts and ruined fortunes? Well… kind of. It turns out that all these things are possible, but the most common way in to your bank account, or identity, or indeed, your heart, is not some little known virtual back door.  It’s in your hands.  Literally.  It’s that thing you carry around with you every day; that you can’t bear to be parted from; that holds all your online keys.  Your mobile phone. So as a public service, and because the level of mobile phone security amongst Snapper staff could use an upgrade, we’ve put together this step-by-step guide on how you turn on the ‘Find My Phone’ services on your mobile phone.  This functionality allows you to find your phone should you lose it (What a relief! I left it at home.), but also to delete data from it remotely, if it’s lost for good (Take that, bad guys!).  I was disappointed to learn that the functionality does not allow you to spontaneously explode your phone from a distance, but regardless, ‘Find My Phone’ functionality protects you and your company (if you use your mobile phone for work) should you misplace it.   First things first OK, first, unlock your phone.  You have a passcode on your phone right? No? Well, that’s like leaving your front door open.  Not everyone who walks past will go in and steal your stuff, but if they’re that way inclined, you just made it incredibly easy.  Go to the settings menu on your phone (it usually has a symbol that looks like a cog), then under security, set a passcode. Really…. Do it now. We’ll wait… For those of you waiting with me, here’s a cat video compilation to amuse you in the meantime. The pleb’s guide to finding not losing your phone Right, everyone back now? Good. Here’s how you set up ‘Find My Phone’. For an Android phone or tablet 1. From the home screen, tap ‘Google Settings’. 2. Under the Services menu, tap ‘Security’ 3. Under Android Device Manager, move sliders to the right to turn on ‘Remotely locate this device’ and ‘Allow remote lock and erase’. 4. Done! Should you lose your Andrpoid phone or tablet: 1. Go to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager and log in to your Google account. 2. If your device is on and connected to the internet, it will appear on a handy map. 3. You will then have the option to: Ring – will help you find it, if it’s in the vicinity Lock – locks the phone Erase – gets rid of all the data. 4. If your device is not connected, you can perform the same functions as above – they will simply take effect as soon as the phone is connected again. 5. Done!   For an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch 1. From your home screen, tap Settings > iCloud 2. Scroll to the bottom of the iCloud menu and tap ‘Find My iPhone’. 3. Move sliders to the right to turn on ‘Find My iPhone’ and ‘Send Last Location’ (Use the same menus to set up Find My Mac on https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205362) 4. Done! Should you lose your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch: 1. Go to www.icloud.com and log in. 2. Click ‘Find iPhone’ 3. If your device is on and connected to the internet, it will appear on a handy map.  You will then have the option to: Play sound – will help you find it, if it’s in the vicinity Lost mode – locks the phone Erase iPhone – gets rid of all the data. 4. If your device is not connected, you can tick to be notified when it comes online again, and perform the same functions as above.  The function you choose, will take effect as soon as the device is connected. 5. Done!   Easy, wasn’t it?  You’re welcome.

    • Snapper Internships 2016
      • Looking for a job while you’re still studying that doesn’t require a hair net? One that kick starts your career before you’ve even left University? An opportunity to do real work and not just “practice”? Snapper are recruiting now for their Snapper Internship Program – and don’t worry, it’s paid! What we can offer: Our internship program provides the opportunity to work on real projects, doing real work, and with flexible hours that will fit in with your timetable and study commitments. You’ll be working collectively as part of a software development team, helping build awesome industry-leading products and undertaking exciting R&D activities. What we’re looking for: We don’t just want good people…we want great people! We’re looking for well-rounded individuals who understand and appreciate all software development, not just coding. Your background could relate to any of the following disciplines: • Business analysis • Requirements gathering • Quality assurance • Coding/development • Testing • User experience • Mobile application design The formal stuff: Internships will be on a part-time basis during term (minimum of 12 hours per week) and full-time (minimum of 40 hours per week) during the holiday periods, with three terms per year. At the end of each term, we’ll evaluate and invite those selected to continue their placement. You must be in your final year of study to apply for the program. Get in touch: If you’re interested in jump-starting your career and getting real experience with a company that’s leading the industry on a global scale, get in touch with your CV or for more information at: interns@snapper.co.nz

    • Snapper helps Ireland’s National Transport Authority Leap ahead
      •                               The launch of the Leap Card mobile app in Dublin was attended by Snapper Services last month. The app harnesses Snapper’s home-grown innovation in mobile technology to deliver instant and convenient top-up capability to passengers of the National Transport Authority of Ireland (NTA). Holders of the Leap Card can now reload their card on-the-go using an Android smartphone.  The same technology was implemented in Wellington by Snapper in 2012, becoming one of the world’s first public transport ticketing schemes to integrate with NFC capable smartphones. The Leap Card app project started in late 2014, and was a cross-border-and-time-zone collaboration between Snapper, Vix Technology and the NTA. “Working across time-zones was challenging at times, but also proved to be an advantage.” Snapper’s CTO, Norman Comerford said. “NTA and Vix would send us feedback during the development process, and we were able to work on it while they slept, giving them a resolution when they arrived in the office the following day. Between us, and our partner Vix – through their UK office – we were able to provide close to a 24-hour service on weekdays to NTA.” The launch of the Leap Card Top Up app was officiated by Paschal Donohoe, Ireland’s Minister of Transport.  “The NTA is to be commended for the forward thinking they have shown in respect of how to further improve Leap services,” he told the Irish Times. “By listening to their customers and identifying an area that could make using Leap Cards even easier they set about addressing customers’ needs through advances in digital technology.” “Customer uptake has been phenomenal!  The Leap app was the #2 new app in Ireland last week, and #7 overall, with more than 20,000 downloads in the first two weeks” said Miki Szikszai, Snapper’s CEO.  “We learned valuable lessons when we implemented the solution in Wellington  not just about the technology, but about marketing and communications too. We have passed this knowledge on to the NTA which has helped drive their successful launch.” Snapper, Vix and the NTA are already working on the next version of the app, and discussing additional functionality. Left: Miki Szikszai (Snapper), NTA Team; Paul Hyland, Barry Dorgan, Anne Graham, Tim Gaston and Declan Sheehan, Jon Salmon (VIX) ENDS For further information, contact Nina Ive, nina.ive@snapper.co.nz or 021 598 931 About Snapper: Snapper Services Ltd was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Infratil Ltd to provide a public transport ticketing system for the New Zealand market. Since its launch in 2008, Snapper has systematically integrated the Snapper scheme with other relevant services, including Taxis, Cable Car, Parking, Retail payments and in 2012 the first mobile on-the-go payments solution in New Zealand. This experience provides Snapper with the unique capability to offer its mobile services to other modern ticketing systems around the world, who want to innovate and provide convenient solutions for their customers Snapper is based in Wellington, New Zealand and operates in a global environment with partners in Australia, Korea, the UK, the USA and Europe.   About Vix Technology Vix Technology is a leading provider and integrator of smart booking, ticketing, payments, real-time information and data management solutions for large-scale transit networks in more than 200 regions around the world, including Stockholm, Rome, Seattle, Melbourne and Beijing.   Working across 20 global offices, Vix leverage more than 25 years industry experience designing, operating and maintaining proven next-generation ticketing, payment and loyalty platforms to help governments and businesses manage around 5bn transactions a year and create new ways to connect with their customers and increase revenue potential.

    • Facing down the zombie apocalypse
      • We’re an interesting bunch here at Snapper.  Among our number we count horse riders, triathaloners, beer brewers, netballers, Tinder enthusiasts (purely for software development research of course), and the ubiquitous gamers of any environment hosting young people.  And not-so-young people. In amongst all these fascinating folk, Jabob Duligall is arguably the fascinating-est.  You see, this circumspect, dreadlocked software developer, may just save the world. Jacob’s Honours project for his Engineering degree has seen him design simulation software to predict the spread of a zombie outbreak. Read more about this from the good folk at Victoria University.  You’ll be glad you did when the flesh-eating undead hit your town. Our Jacob before his morning coffee. Not really! You too can zombify yourself at zombieme.com

    • Cruise ship season
      •                   The cruise ship season is upon us, which means the Wellington City i-SITE Visitor Centre might be busier than usual on some days over the coming months. The friendly team at the i-SITE will still be available to help you with any Snapper related questions or issues you might have, however please be aware that the following days, particularly between 10am and 1pm, will be busier than usual:   2015 2016 Tuesday 06 October Wednesday 04 November Tuesday 10 November Wednesday 18 November Wednesday 25 November Wednesday 02 December Wednesday 9 December Saturday 12 December Sunday 20 December Tuesday 22 December Monday 28 December Monday 04 January Sunday 10 January Friday 15 January Saturday 16 January Thursday 21 January Saturday 23 January Friday 29 January Monday 01 February Thursday 04 February Wednesday 10 February Tuesday 16 February Thursday 18 February Sunday 28 February Check out the full schedule here. Wellington Cable Car Also effected by the cruising cruisers is the Wellington Cable Car. Should you want to take a ride on the iconic Cable Car don’t be put off by the queue flowing out onto Lambton Quay. Pay with Snapper and you can make your way past the cruisers and tag on through the Smart gates.   Wellington City i-SITE Visitor Centre Civic Square, Corner Victoria and Wakefield Street, Wellington City Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 8.30am – 5pm (Open every day, except Christmas Day) Public holidays, 9am – 4pm

    • Snapper Internship Program – applications open now!
      •           Looking for a job while you’re still studying that doesn’t require a hair net? One that kick starts your career before you’ve even left University? An opportunity to do real work and not just “practice”? Snapper are recruiting now for their Snapper Internship Program – and don’t worry, it’s paid! What we can offer: Our internship program provides the opportunity to work on real projects, doing real work, and with flexible hours that will fit in with your timetable and study commitments. You’ll be working collectively as part of a software development team, helping build awesome industry-leading products and undertaking exciting R&D activities. What we’re looking for: We don’t just want good people…we want great people! We’re looking for well-rounded individuals who understand and appreciate all software development, not just coding. Your background could relate to any of the following disciplines: • Business analysis • Requirements gathering • Quality assurance • Coding/development • Testing • User experience • Mobile application design The formal stuff: Applications are open now for internships starting no later than November 2015 and will close when all places have been filled. Internships will be on a part-time basis during term (minimum of 12 hours per week) and full-time (minimum of 40 hours per week) during the holiday periods, with three terms per year. At the end of each term, we’ll evaluate and invite those selected to continue their placement. You must be in your final year of study in 2016 to apply for the program. Get in touch: If you’re interested in jump-starting your career and getting real experience with a company that’s leading the industry on a global scale, get in touch with your CV or for more information at: interns@snapper.co.nz About Snapper: Snapper is New Zealand’s leading contactless payment system, bringing together the latest technology and the best people. Formed in 2006, we’re a company that enjoys operating at the global forefront of innovation in the ticketing, revenue collection, and payment industries. Our technological forays include cloud computing, contactless payments, social media, smartphones, tablets, mobile applications, NFC, and more.

    • Snapper Profile: Mauricio Freitas
      • One of the great things I enjoy about Snapper is the range of people we get to meet, partner and collaborate with on a regular basis.  One of these long term collaborators is Mauricio Freitas – founder of Geekzone.  His Geekzone website has united the technical community in New Zealand for many years now, and Mauricio has been a friend to Snapper by spreading the word out to his network when we have launched innovative new products, such as Touch2pay mobile with 2degrees. We recently had the chance to use Mauricio’s specialist skills in-house, so we snapped him up! This was such a great opportunity,  we arranged for him to be interviewed by a local reporter on his life and background to Geekzone and how it has led to Snapper.  For anyone with a tech interest, this is a must-read to understand how it all began and how a career in IT can evolve and grow in many directions.  From a Snapper perspective Mauricio embodies our values of continuous improvement, being big on belief, challenging comfort and fostering innovation. Thanks Mauricio for being a part of Team Snapper!    

    • Shh, don’t tell anyone… but you could win a Samsung Galaxy S5
      •                   Whilst celebrating our new mobile app Samsung has come to the party with a shiny new Galaxy S5 worth $750 for one lucky person to take home! Over the next two weeks look out for our posters in selected bus shelters around Wellington. They have a cool NFC/QR code gizmo attached to them. Just tag on and submit your details to be in the draw to win. You can also enter the draw here , but note – this link is only good for one entry, so tag onto the bus shelter poster as well to double your chances of winning! We will draw the lucky winner on Monday 10th August. So if you don’t currently have an Android mobile phone with NFC or are just looking for a fancy upgrade, get in quick and enter NOW! Good luck!

    • Snapper delivers a first for Victoria University
      •                       While Snapper has recently been lauded for their success overseas, winning the Ticketing Technology of the Year award in London, the company has also been working on a local solution to help students and staff at Victoria University. Snapper has enabled the Victoria inter-campus (VIC) pass to work on the Cable Car as well as buses that operate between Victoria University’s campus locations. The pass is available for students who have classes split between different campuses and need a quick way to get across town. “The ability for staff and students to not only use Snapper cards for buses but also the Cable Car is a great development as it creates another convenient and sustainable travel option. Students have given some great feedback on the service since it was launched,” says Andrew Wilks, Victoria University Environmental Manager. This multi-modal pass is a New Zealand first. Not only does it work across two different transport modes, but those modes are run by two different operators (NZ Bus and Wellington Cable Car Ltd); these are in turn supported by two different ticketing equipment vendors (Vix and KSCC), with a travel product that is provided by an independent third party (Victoria University). There is no other system currently operating in New Zealand which can demonstrate the same flexibility in travel products or multiple vendors that is in practice here. Snapper is able to deliver this multi-modal functionality due to the open and flexible system it has created, which underpins the Mobile Reload solutions the company is marketing to transport authorities locally and off-shore. Snapper has consistently demonstrated the benefits of having an open architecture by extending its system over the years to include parking, taxis, the Cable Car, 2degrees mobile and EFTPOS NZ. Further integrations with Semble, Spark and Vodafone are also coming soon – all of this has an end goal of providing a world-class ticketing system for Wellingtonians. “Technology is advancing at a rapid pace globally, and the transport ticketing industry is no exception. Our vision at Snapper is to unlock transport ticketing systems, to connect them with other systems, and to develop useful new services for customers and transport authorities. We’re delighted to be able to provide this new service, which will make moving between campuses easier for Victoria University’s students and staff,” says Snapper Services’ CEO Miki Szikszai.

    • Introducing the NEW Snapper Mobile App
      • It may be grey and wintry outside but the sun is shining here at Snapper as we unveil the latest version of our Snapper mobile app, just for you. We’ve been beavering away to give you a fancy new interface as well as including some pretty cool new features to make managing your Snapper card super-easy. Check out our video now to see it in action or download the App now for free from Google Play and start enjoying the benefits of these great new features: Log in to the app using your snapper.co.nz details or create a new account for a seamless and secure experience. See what your Snapper’s been up to: scroll through the most recent 20 transactions on your Snapper card with the instant, real-time transaction history Super speedy top-ups: securely save your payment details within the app and protect them with a four digit PIN to top-up in a snap Contact us through the app for help and support: no need to find a phone number to get in touch – we’re online and available now from within the app. Plus you can still buy a travel pass and register your Snapper card, as well as check your real-time balance and view all the details on your Snapper card at a glance.             What’s next for Android users Semble – Soon you’ll be able to use Snapper with the Semble Mobile Wallet on a Semble Ready SIM available on 2degrees, Spark and Vodafone. We will be in touch to let you know when. What if I have an iPhone? Your Snapper card and the Snapper app use NFC technology to communicate and sadly Apple continue to keep their NFC specs very hush hush. But hey iPhone users, we’re ready to bring you the Snapper app as soon as Apple are, so keep hassling them and watch this space

    • Introducing the NEW Snapper Mobile App
      • It may be grey and wintry outside but the sun is shining here at Snapper as we unveil the latest version of our Snapper mobile app, just for you. We’ve been beavering away to give you a fancy new interface as well as including some pretty cool new features to make managing your Snapper card super-easy. Check out our video now to see it in action or download the App now for free from Google Play and start enjoying the benefits of these great new features: Log in to the app using your snapper.co.nz details or create a new account for a seamless and secure experience. See what your Snapper’s been up to: scroll through the most recent 20 transactions on your Snapper card with the instant, real-time transaction history Super speedy top-ups: securely save your payment details within the app and protect them with a four digit PIN to top-up in a snap Contact us through the app for help and support: no need to find a phone number to get in touch – we’re online and available now from within the app. Plus you can still buy a travel pass and register your Snapper card, as well as check your real-time balance and view all the details on your Snapper card at a glance.             What’s next for Android users Semble – Soon you’ll be able to use Snapper with the Semble Mobile Wallet on a Semble Ready SIM available on 2degrees, Spark and Vodafone. We will be in touch to let you know when. What if I have an iPhone? Your Snapper card and the Snapper app use NFC technology to communicate and sadly Apple continue to keep their NFC specs very hush hush. But hey iPhone users, we’re ready to bring you the Snapper app as soon as Apple are, so keep hassling them and watch this space

    • Uh oh…No more coffee??
      • We appreciate many Wellingtonians are proud to be able to use their Snapper to buy the occasional cup of coffee, so this may come as a heavy blow to learn that from 1st June 2015 you will no longer be able to purchase items such as food and beverages with your Snapper. BUT WHY? We’re finding that most people are preferring to use their contactless bank card to buy small everyday items and save their Snapper for transport-related activities. This trend, combined with our increased focus on mobile technologies, has led us to re-evaluate the retail side of the Snapper business. The good news is, your Snapper can still be used in many ways: SNAPPER ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT Use your Snapper to: catch the bus catch a taxi ride the cable car SNAPPER IN RETAILERS Pop into your regular Snapper retailer to: buy a Snapper check your balance top up your card buy a travel pass SNAPPER YOUR PARKING You don’t have to worry about carrying cash or paying a credit card fee – just Snapper your parking at over 500 on-street meters throughout Wellington. SNAPPER ON MOBILE If you have a Snapper and an Android mobile phone you can get the free Snapper mobile app to make balance checking and topping up instant and convenient. SNAPPER AT SCHOOL Many schools and campuses provide Snapper as their only payment method for their cafeteria or tuck shop.  We will continue to support payments in schools or campuses until they have established adequate alternative payment methods. Thank you for your continued support. Team Snapper

    • Uh oh…No more coffee??
      • We appreciate many Wellingtonians are proud to be able to use their Snapper to buy the occasional cup of coffee, so this may come as a heavy blow to learn that from 1st June 2015 you will no longer be able to purchase items such as food and beverages with your Snapper. BUT WHY? We’re finding that most people are preferring to use their contactless bank card to buy small everyday items and save their Snapper for transport-related activities. This trend, combined with our increased focus on mobile technologies, has led us to re-evaluate the retail side of the Snapper business. The good news is, your Snapper can still be used in many ways: SNAPPER ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT Use your Snapper to: catch the bus catch a taxi ride the cable car SNAPPER IN RETAILERS Pop into your regular Snapper retailer to: buy a Snapper check your balance top up your card buy a travel pass SNAPPER YOUR PARKING You don’t have to worry about carrying cash or paying a credit card fee – just Snapper your parking at over 500 on-street meters throughout Wellington. SNAPPER ON MOBILE If you have a Snapper and an Android mobile phone you can get the free Snapper mobile app to make balance checking and topping up instant and convenient. SNAPPER AT SCHOOL Many schools and campuses provide Snapper as their only payment method for their cafeteria or tuck shop.  We will continue to support payments in schools or campuses until they have established adequate alternative payment methods. Thank you for your continued support. Team Snapper

    • Charity-IT and a study in business process
      • Snapper had the pleasure of supporting Charity-IT’s Wellington Hackathon earlier this year. The event saw more than 40 volunteers working together over a weekend to deliver IT projects for four charities: Able Pet Care, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Kiwi Community Assistance and Nature Through Arts Collective. The scope of the task was daunting as the team still had to go through the same processes that they would in a normal commercial engagement: sitting down with the customer, identifying the issues, brainstorming solutions and then executing the plan – all with the time constraint of just two days to complete the four projects. However the results were impressive, with all four charities receiving completed IT projects that they desperately needed and did not have the resources to implement without this volunteered support. “Where they are today compared to where they were on Friday is light years difference” said Snapper CEO Miki Szikszai. From our point of view it was great for us to be involved in such a good cause that impacts Wellington businesses and stimulates growth in a tech environment. However, it was also interesting to see just how much could be done when constraints were placed on talented people but with the usual commercial and bureaucratic restrictions removed. As Snapper CTO Norman Comerford commented “Charity-IT can bring a small team of unpaid volunteers together, give them a problem and they buy into it: they get to the root cause, come up with solutions and develop the deliverables in two days.  It’s a fantastic achievement and is testimony to the effectiveness of cross-funtional team collaboration” Will we be supporting Charity-IT next year? Absolutely – it proved very rewarding not only in warm fuzzies for contributing to a great cause but also as a study of a remarkable work environment. We would encourage anyone to get involved in the next local event. ____ Charity-IT’s next event is the Christchurch Hackathon: 1st – 3rd May Charity-IT will be presenting in Wellington in the afternoon at TechSoup: 14th May Charity-IT Auckland Hackathon: 17th July Snapper was a key sponsor of the Charity-IT Wellington Hackathon alongside Psoda, Hell Pizza and Servcorp who hosted the event.

    • Charity-IT and a study in business process
      • Snapper had the pleasure of supporting Charity-IT’s Wellington Hackathon earlier this year. The event saw more than 40 volunteers working together over a weekend to deliver IT projects for four charities: Able Pet Care, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Kiwi Community Assistance and Nature Through Arts Collective. The scope of the task was daunting as the team still had to go through the same processes that they would in a normal commercial engagement: sitting down with the customer, identifying the issues, brainstorming solutions and then executing the plan – all with the time constraint of just two days to complete the four projects. However the results were impressive, with all four charities receiving completed IT projects that they desperately needed and did not have the resources to implement without this volunteered support. “Where they are today compared to where they were on Friday is light years difference” said Snapper CEO Miki Szikszai. From our point of view it was great for us to be involved in such a good cause that impacts Wellington businesses and stimulates growth in a tech environment. However, it was also interesting to see just how much could be done when constraints were placed on talented people but with the usual commercial and bureaucratic restrictions removed. As Snapper CTO Norman Comerford commented “Charity-IT can bring a small team of unpaid volunteers together, give them a problem and they buy into it: they get to the root cause, come up with solutions and develop the deliverables in two days.  It’s a fantastic achievement and is testimony to the effectiveness of cross-funtional team collaboration” Will we be supporting Charity-IT next year? Absolutely – it proved very rewarding not only in warm fuzzies for contributing to a great cause but also as a study of a remarkable work environment. We would encourage anyone to get involved in the next local event. ____ Charity-IT’s next event is the Christchurch Hackathon: 1st – 3rd May Charity-IT will be presenting in Wellington in the afternoon at TechSoup: 14th May Charity-IT Auckland Hackathon: 17th July Snapper was a key sponsor of the Charity-IT Wellington Hackathon alongside Psoda, Hell Pizza and Servcorp who hosted the event.

    • Snapper and Semble partnership
      • We are really excited today to announce our partnership with Semble. At Snapper we have always believed that the smartphone will be the preferred device for personal computing. We are big fans of Benedict Evans who coined the phrase ‘Mobile is eating the world’. You can see evidence for this everywhere: Smartphones are outselling PC’s by more than 2:1 Smartphones make up more than 40% of all mobile phones sold today They have eaten the internet, cameras, they are eating payment and we believe that public transport is next. We made decisions very early on to align our technology with mobile technology in preparation for this, including selecting the same card type for the Snapper card that mobile network operators use for their SIMs. We knew that if we did this, we could make it very easy for our customers to take advantage of smartphones when the time was right. And so it has proven. Almost 3 years ago to the day, we launched 2 mobile products: 1. Snapper Mobile an app that lets customers reload their Snapper card by simply touching it to any Android NFC phone. 2. In partnership with 2degrees, Touch2Pay. NZ’s first commercial mobile payments service that let 2degrees customers use their phones to pay for public transport, retail, taxis and parking, anywhere they see the Snapper sign. Again simply by touching their phone to the reader. What we have learned in this time is that our customers love these services. When they are well designed, they are instant and convenient for reload and payment. They make the experience of public transport fundamentally better by letting customers get from A to B and getting the payment process out of their way. Our customers also told us they wanted more. While they could use any NFC smartphone from any mobile network operator to reload a Snapper card, they told us they wanted to use their Vodafone and Spark smartphones in the same way as 2degrees customers to pay for all Snapper services just by touching their phone to any Snapper reader. It’s a natural progression and we’re very proud to be Semble’s first transit partner in NZ. From June this year all Semble customers will be able to download a Snapper payment card into their Semble wallet and, in tandem with the Snapper Mobile app, use it throughout the Snapper network for reload and payment. Our view is that Semble is the natural partner to work with. Semble provides distribution to the widest range of customers for secure, instant, mobile payments. Semble provides certification services that means we don’t need to worry about managing the complexity of multiple phone hardware, OS and SIM variations. This makes it easier for us and other application providers to meet our customers needs, and that is what it is all about. We are looking forward to launching in June and are proud to support Semble as they deliver on their vision of a customer focused mobile payments platform for all of NZ.

    • Snapper and Semble partnership
      • We are really excited today to announce our partnership with Semble. At Snapper we have always believed that the smartphone will be the preferred device for personal computing. We are big fans of Benedict Evans who coined the phrase ‘Mobile is eating the world’. You can see evidence for this everywhere: Smartphones are outselling PC’s by more than 2:1 Smartphones make up more than 40% of all mobile phones sold today They have eaten the internet, cameras, they are eating payment and we believe that public transport is next. We made decisions very early on to align our technology with mobile technology in preparation for this, including selecting the same card type for the Snapper card that mobile network operators use for their SIMs. We knew that if we did this, we could make it very easy for our customers to take advantage of smartphones when the time was right. And so it has proven. Almost 3 years ago to the day, we launched 2 mobile products: 1. Snapper Mobile an app that lets customers reload their Snapper card by simply touching it to any Android NFC phone. 2. In partnership with 2degrees, Touch2Pay. NZ’s first commercial mobile payments service that let 2degrees customers use their phones to pay for public transport, retail, taxis and parking, anywhere they see the Snapper sign. Again simply by touching their phone to the reader. What we have learned in this time is that our customers love these services. When they are well designed, they are instant and convenient for reload and payment. They make the experience of public transport fundamentally better by letting customers get from A to B and getting the payment process out of their way. Our customers also told us they wanted more. While they could use any NFC smartphone from any mobile network operator to reload a Snapper card, they told us they wanted to use their Vodafone and Spark smartphones in the same way as 2degrees customers to pay for all Snapper services just by touching their phone to any Snapper reader. It’s a natural progression and we’re very proud to be Semble’s first transit partner in NZ. From June this year all Semble customers will be able to download a Snapper payment card into their Semble wallet and, in tandem with the Snapper Mobile app, use it throughout the Snapper network for reload and payment. Our view is that Semble is the natural partner to work with. Semble provides distribution to the widest range of customers for secure, instant, mobile payments. Semble provides certification services that means we don’t need to worry about managing the complexity of multiple phone hardware, OS and SIM variations. This makes it easier for us and other application providers to meet our customers needs, and that is what it is all about. We are looking forward to launching in June and are proud to support Semble as they deliver on their vision of a customer focused mobile payments platform for all of NZ.

    • Snapper Lands International Award in London
      •                         It’s been a big week for Snapper. At the Transport Ticketing Global Conference and Expo in London, Snapper officially launched their new range of technology solutions.  They also went up against some tough competition in a shortlist of 10 other contenders to be awarded with Ticketing Technology of the Year! The award showcases the work that Snapper has done with their innovative Mobile Reload technology, which has been deployed in New Zealand since 2012, and will be rolled out for the National Transport Authority of Ireland later this year as well. While this new line of business is targeted at Transport Authorities operating smartcard ticketing schemes, it doesn’t mean you will see Snapper cards multiplying en-masse all over the world.  Snapper is taking their leading edge technology and offering it as a white-label product, so Transport Authorities can leverage the investment they have already made in their existing smartcard branding. The benefits for Transport Authorities are two-fold. By engaging with Snapper to develop Mobile, Online or Retail Solutions, the Transport Authority can provide their cardholders with an improved reload experience that is instant and convenient. Secondly, the Transport Authority can benefit from a reduced cost of operations once a portion of their customer base takes up this new method of reload. The Transport Ticketing Expo this week has confirmed just how valuable these services are to Transit Authorities.  “Mobile is eating the world and transport ticketing is no exception. Transport Authorities are facing pressure to meet customer demand for mobile oriented services that work with their existing smartcard.” says Snapper CEO Miki Szikszai. “Transport Authorities are telling us that Snapper’s proven solutions can meet these needs. We look forward to taking the discussions further over the coming weeks to deliver real results for their cities.” To find out more about Snapper Services, visit their website services.snapper.co.nz or email services@snapper.co.nz  

    • Snapper going global
      • You have probably noticed that smartphones have taken over as the personal computing platform of choice. As Benedict Evans so eloquently puts it, Mobile is eating the world. This is not news to Snapper or to our customers. Snapper cardholders have been able to use their Android smartphones to check their balance and reload their Snapper card for almost three years now. It turns out that when we tell Transport Authorities around the world  about what Snapper cardholders can do, they want to know more. They want to know about the team that developed these services and where they can get them. So we have developed a new line of business to meet this need. This line of business is designed to develop new services for cities around the world. We already have secured one customer  – The National Transport Authority in Ireland. Working together with our partners at Vix Technology, we are  providing a mobile reload service that integrates with the Leap card which is used for public transport throughout Ireland. Since that time we have seen a lot more interest so we have decided to take the next step in this journey. This week we are presenting our offerings at Transport Ticketing,  the major global ticketing conference held annually in London. We’ll be doing this in typical kiwi style with great coffee from our friends at Allpress and heaps of Snapper branding. Working with the team from Chili, we have launched a new website that is focused on the needs of Transport Authorities. Check it out so you can follow our progress in taking Snapper to the world. We think there is a great opportunity here and we’re going after it. If you are interested in being part of the team that is bringing these services to the world, we would love to hear from you, Check out LinkedIn for more details of roles that we have available or drop us a line here.

    • Travel Concessions
      • Travel concessions for College students 16 years old or older expire 28 February A travel concession (discounted fare) is set to expire on a student’s 16th birthday. Thereafter an Adult fare is paid unless Snapper has received notification and evidence that the student is still enrolled at school. From the age of 16 onwards, enrolled school students need to renew their travel concession on an annual basis (by 28th February each year) If you are 16 years old or older and you have re-enrolled at high school this year you will need to renew your travel concession on your Snapper to continue receiving a child fare. What do I need to do to renew my travel concession? Firstly, register your Snapper card if you haven’t already done so. This will make your Snapper safer than cash – protecting it if lost or stolen – plus it gives you online access 24/7 to your Snapper balance and transaction history. There are two ways to renew your travel concession: In person Drop into Wellington iSite, Lower Hutt iSite or Upper Hutt iSite, and bring the following: ◾Your Snapper card ◾Proof of enrolment – i.e. a scan of your 2015 school ID or a letter from your school confirming you are enrolled at school for the 2015 year. Online Send an email to concessions@snapper.co.nz and include the following: ◾Your 16 digit Snapper card number ◾Your registered email address (for your Snapper website account) ◾Proof of enrolment – i.e. a scan of your 2015 school ID or a letter from your school confirming you are enrolled at school for the 2015 year. How do I know if my travel concession is working on the bus? When you tag on, if you hear two beeps, then you have been charged the child/concession discounted fare.  If you hear just one beep, it means you have been charged the adult fare. What happens if my School has issued School ID’s with Snapper? Schools can also choose to have Snapper built in to their school ID cards. Your school may have already issued you a School ID with Snapper, in which case your travel concession has already been applied to your card and you’re ready to use it on the bus. This card is not automatically registered, please do this either online or at your local iSite. What happens if I’m not returning to School? If you have been using Snapper but are not returning to a Wellington region school in 2015 you don’t need to do anything.  Your travel concession will expire on 28th February 2015 and an adult fare will be paid from 1st March 2015. Do you have any questions? If you have any questions please email us at concessions@snapper.co.nz Regards Team Snapper

    • October Parking Competition Winner Recieves $339.25
      • Over the month of October we ran a competition where every parking transaction counted as an entry to win the largest amount spent that month by a single card. Snapper’s lucky winner Ann, is pictured on the right receiving her prize from Snapper’s Marketing Manager Nina. As per the competitions terms and conditions, Ann received a whopping $339.25 in Snapper credit distributed between her existing Snapper USB and a brand new Snapper. It goes without saying that our dear friend Ann will not be hearing “please check your balance” for a while. We have a sweet Christmas Parking promo in the mix so stay tuned for more.

    • Unregistered Cards Miss Out
      •               If you are one of our registered customers, you would know that over the month of August Snapper ran a Parking competition. In this competition every individual Snapper paid parking transaction was an entry in the draw to win back your total Snapper parking expenses for that month. So with great pleasure we wish to congratulate the two winners: Tim. M ($2.25) Terry. G ($15.75) However, the devastating news (although not to Snapper’s accountants) was that before we found Tim and Terry though we drew 4 unregistered cards. Unregistered card $20.75 Unregistered card $45.75 Unregistered card $185.75 Unregistered card $25.75 If you have not registered your card it could have been you! We understand that the spies, undercover agents, vampires and sceptics of the world may use great caution when registering anything, but truly registering your card is there to help you! Here is an example:If you left a $20.00 note on the bus there is no way of telling that it is yours, you can’t just call up the bus driver and say “Hi, I think I left my $20.00 note  on the bus”. An unregistered Snapper card is just like cash, there is no way to prove it is yours, that you ever had it or get it back! If you were to lose a registered card, you can call Snapper and just by giving us your name and registered email you can get that card blocked so it cannot be used and then get balance of the card transferred once you replace the Snapper. So, to give unregistered card holders another chance we would like to run this competition again in October. Register your cards, and spread the news to the rest of the Snappers in the sea. Just like last time every individual Snapper Parking transaction will count as an entry, but the  prize is going to get a whole lot bigger. The prize is going  to reflect the largest total months spending by a single Snapper card. For example in August this would have been $306.00. For more information please refer to the Terms and Conditions. So the moral of the blog, is please register your Snappers. Protect your cards and allow us the opportunity to reward your patronage.

    • Introducing shyft
      • Guest blog post: Kate Beecroft- shyft Car sharing: quick, convenient and cheap. City dwellers in North America and Europe have easy and convenient transport options that they can use Snapper like cards to access. This model is known as carsharing. Our startup called shyft is aiming to provide this great service in Wellington. For those who aren’t familiar with carshare, the model differs significantly from traditional car rental companies: all insurance and petrol is included, bookings are self-service via computer or smartphone, and cars are conveniently dispersed in neighbourhoods where people need them. You just walk downto your local car, use your Snapper cards to swipe into a little compartment on the front windscreen to access the key, and away you go. More public transport and active transport (walking and cycling) are helping to build better cities and healthier people, you can read more about the developments in New Zealand in the blog post “a Choice Future for Transport in Wellington”. But we can’t yet dismiss the car just yet – cars will inevitably be needed in the medium and long term for certain purposes like picking up a Trademe purchase, going on a weekend trip or going on a spontaneous trip to the beach on a sunny afternoon.  It’s car ownership that could be on its way out.   What’s in it for users? For the individual, carsharing is appealing as it saves money and also eliminates the hassles involved with keeping a car in working order in the city. In the United States, members of the largest carsharing program, Zipcar, save an average of $500 a month compared to owning a car – enough such that 787,000 people had joined Zipcar at last count. The savings in New Zealand is likely to be larger on average due to higher taxes and vehicle related costs. New Zealand has a very old vehicle fleet by developed world standards. As a result, getting people into newer, safer and more fuel-efficient cars can only be positive.   Carsharing and our relationship with the car It’spossible to change our relationship with the car in a way that better integrates it with an all-mode transport system and, surprisingly, encourages a sustainable lifestyle. An image borrowed from  Julie Anne Genter’s post expresses where Carshare fits in the overall transport mix:   The impacts almost entirely positive. A recent report alleges that our cars sit idle 96% of the time. Carsharing is one very popular means of reducing the environmental impacts, social impacts, personal costs of car ownership, and vehicle idle time in a way that improves life for everyone. Some other notable impacts: The reduction in vehicle ownership can keep between $150,000-$300,000 per vehicle in the local economy according to the Intelligent Cities Project. This is especially true in NZ where there are no auto manufacturers and few parts manufacturers Between 15 and 30 vehicles can be removed from the road per car installed.  Personal carbon emissions can be reduced by as much as 50% in urban environments where carbon impact is dominated by transport. Carsharing is a concept that experienced huge growth between 2006 and 2012, with a global growth of 1 million users. This has particularly been concentrated in North America and Australia (European systems are more mature) with relatively little representation in New Zealand. The organisation Cityhop has had some impact in Auckland, but could use additional support from government and sustainability-oriented organizations – and more carsharing systems around the country could only improve uptake, as we hope to see in Wellington. For a country that is famous for its early adoption of many technologies it’s puzzling that carshare hasn’t taken a strong hold here. On the face of it, New Zealand shares many qualities with North America, Australia and Europe that make carsharing popular in those countries. All three continents have traditionally been dependent on cars, are experiencing decreasing numbers of car ownership and vehicle kilometres travelled, and have experienced a growing interest in urban and transport sustainability. So what next? An effective carsharing network in Wellington would do leaps and bounds for the economy, for the environment, and for our wallets. It’d also make it easier to make public transport the convenient choice when we can use smart cards to access cars and ride the bus. We aim to add another carsharing service called shyft to provide cars in Wellington, and would ask you to help us get it on the roads here! 

    • Customer survey responses
      • At the end of last year, Snapper ran its first online Customer Services survey. These surveys enable us to gauge what we are doing well and areas that we can improve upon, not only in regard to customer service but … Continue reading →

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