VeriFone Soars After Winning $35 Million Taxi Contract

VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY), the largest maker of credit-card terminals, gained the most in more than two years after announcing a contract for at least $35 million to install payment systems in 6,500 cabs in Washington.

VeriFone advanced 11 percent to $35.41 at the close in New York, for the biggest jump since May 2010. Through yesterday, the San Jose-based company’s stock had fallen 10 percent this year.

The five-year contract, which will see VeriFone also provide electronic trip reporting, news display and other programming in cabs in Washington, will increase the company’s “taxi-media” presence to more than 35,000 vehicles across the U.S., according to a statement today. With potential advertising revenue, the deal could be worth as much as $45 million, the company said.

“The District’s state of the art system represents the expertise VeriFone has developed in providing integrated secure payment and digital content solutions, which we call PAYMEDIA, for taxis and other market segments,” Amos Tamam, VeriFone senior vice president, Taxi Systems, said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Niamh Ring in New York at nring@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kevin Miller at kmiller@bloomberg.net

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July 11 (Bloomberg) -- In today's "Options Update," Bloomberg's Dominic Chu reports that VeriFone Systems Inc., the largest maker of credit-card terminals, gained the most in more than 22 months after announcing a contract for at least $35 million to install payment systems in 6,500 cabs in Washington. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers." (Source: Bloomberg)