Snapper

What Snapper does

Snapper Services Limited is a New Zealand-based contactless payment and ticketing company that pioneered NFC smart-card payments for public transport in Wellington in 2008. Its core product is the Snapper card, an NFC tag-on/tag-off fare medium used on Metlink buses and trains across the Greater Wellington Region, where 82% of bus passengers and approximately 30,000 daily commuters transact on the platform. The underlying technology is licensed from Korea Smart Card Company (KSCC), the operator of Seoul's T-Money system, which processes roughly 30 million transactions daily, providing Snapper with a proven, high-throughput fare-calculation backbone.

The company operates a multi-channel distribution model comprising 100+ retailers (dairies, supermarkets, service stations), self-service kiosks at transit hubs, an in-station service centre at Wellington Railway Station, an airport vending machine, and native iOS and Android apps with NFC top-up functionality. In addition to stored-value cards, Snapper now accepts contactless Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay directly at readers through an integration with LittlePay. Revenue is generated through card sales (RRP NZ$10), retailer top-up fees (NZ$0.25), app and kiosk credit-card processing fees (1.5%), travel pass facilitation, and Mosaiq analytics contracts.

Snapper is a privately held subsidiary of the ICM Mobility Group, led by CEO Miki Szikszai. Beyond the consumer fare product, it commercialises the Mosaiq Transit Intelligence Suite (Insights, Go, Live), a cloud-based analytics platform sold to transit operators and authorities globally, with a European headquarters in Belfast supporting international growth. Snapper Services employs more than 80 staff across data, engineering, business development, and customer experience functions.

Name

Snapper

Legal name

Snapper Services Limited

Website

https://snapper.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Snapper Services Limited operates an NFC smart-card and contactless payment system for public transport in New Zealand's Greater Wellington Region, serving around 30,000 daily bus commuters at 82% adoption, and sells the Mosaiq Transit Intelligence Suite to transit operators globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Transport Ticketing

NAICS

Bus and Other Motor Vehicle Transit Systems (485113)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Card & Closed-Loop Fare Media Systems (THAIAMAC)

Keywords

• Contactless transit payments
• Public transport ticketing
• Smart card payments
• Transit analytics software
• Mobile fare collection

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Card Sales: Snapper earns revenue from the sale of Snapper cards at recommended retail price of $10. Some retailers set different prices.
2. Retail Top-up Fees: A 25 cent fee is charged for topping up at Snapper retailers, covering the retailer's cost for providing the service.
3. Card Processing Fees: A 1.5% card processing fee is deducted when topping up via the mobile app or kiosks using credit cards. This fee is added by the payment provider and included in the transaction amount.
4. Travel Pass Sales: Snapper facilitates the sale of bus passes, rail passes, and day passes (such as Metlink Explorer passes) which are loaded onto Snapper cards.
5. RideBank Weekly Billing: RideBank service calculates weekly travel costs and bills users' credit/debit cards, including a 3% credit/debit card fee. Weekly billing occurs every Tuesday evening.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Snapper operates the Snapper contactless smart-card ticketing system used on Wellington's public bus and rail network, enabling commuters to tag on and off using NFC cards, iOS and Android apps, contactless credit/debit cards, and self-service kiosks. Beyond fare collection, the company offers the Mosaiq Transit Intelligence Suite, a cloud-based analytics platform with Insights, Go, and Live modules that help transit operators analyze ridership, plan services, monitor live operations, and run COVID-19 contact tracing.

Product overview

Snapper is an electronic smart card payment system for public transport in New Zealand's Greater Wellington Region. The product portfolio includes: (1) Snapper Card — the core smart card product for bus and rail fare payment; (2) Snapper iOS and Android mobile apps for card management via NFC; (3) Snapper Kiosks — self-service top-up terminals; (4) Contactless Credit/Debit Card Payments via LittlePay integration; (5) Mosaiq Transit Intelligence Suite — a cloud-based analytics platform comprising Mosaiq Insights, Mosaiq Go, and Mosaiq Live for transit operators. RideBank was a discontinued beta product for automatic weekly billing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mosaiq Transit Intelligence Suite: A cloud-based public transit analytics platform used by public transport operators and authorities globally, providing accurate, unified, and actionable insights. Includes Mosaiq Insights (rapid analytics), Mosaiq Go (mobile-based intelligence), and Mosaiq Live (real-time visibility of journeys and fleet movement).

Products and services

• Snapper Card Physical NFC smart card that Wellington commuters use to tag on and tag off on Metlink buses and trains, supporting stored-value top-ups via cash at retailers, kiosks, the Service Centre, the Snapper website, or credit/debit card top-up with a 1.5% fee.
• Snapper iOS App iOS mobile app that lets Snapper cardholders manage their account, check balances and travel history, and perform online top-ups directly from their iPhone.
• Snapper Android App Android mobile app that allows Snapper cardholders to top up online, view balances and travel history, and manage their Snapper account from an Android device, with payments processed via the Windcave payment gateway.
• Snapper Kiosks Self-service kiosks that enable Snapper cardholders to top up their cards using cash or EFTPOS, providing an automated alternative to retail and Service Centre top-ups.
• Contactless Credit/Debit Card Payments Open-loop payment feature that lets commuters pay for Metlink bus and train trips by tapping a contactless credit or debit card directly on the Snapper-enabled reader, without needing a Snapper card or app.
• Mosaiq Transit Intelligence Suite Cloud-based analytics platform offered to public transit operators and authorities, providing Mosaiq Insights for ridership analytics, Mosaiq Go for service planning, Mosaiq Live for real-time operations monitoring, plus COVID-19 contact tracing functionality.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82% of Wellington bus passengers use Snapper cards
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ActivataminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2016Activata is New Zealand's only kiwi-owned prepay network, focused on prepaid innovation and providing excellence in prepay products. Snapper started working with Activata in 2016 to support the Snapper retail top-up network after Eftpos New Zealand announced they were turning off their network integration switch.
• Korea Smart Card Company (KSCC)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe leading-edge technology underpinning Snapper is from KSCC, which established Seoul's T-Money transportation system in 2004. KSCC operates the system, settles fares, and issues T-Money cards and devices. The system handles 30 million transactions daily on nearly 20,000 buses across 242 operators, 73,000 taxis, and 8,000 metro train gates.
• HTS GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHTS Group has Australasian expertise in end-to-end ticketing integration and maintenance, with significant experience in integrating electronic ticketing systems for the public transport sector.
• ABnoteminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerABnote is the Asia-Pacific leader in cards manufacturing and personalisation, providing efficient and effective quality card services from design through to consumer delivery. ABnote manufactures and produces all Snapper card types including PVC and polycarbonate cards.
• Metlink (Greater Wellington Regional Council)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSnapper provides the ticketing system for Metlink's public transport network in the Greater Wellington Region, including all Metlink buses and trains. Snapper collects fares and provides data analytics through the Mosaiq platform. The regional council sets fares.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LittlePay: Open-loop payment platform for public transit that enables contactless credit/debit card acceptance on buses and rail. Directly comparable to Snapper's contactless card feature, which is in fact powered by LittlePay integration.
• Masabi: Mobile ticketing and fare-validation platform used by transit agencies in the UK, US, and beyond. Competes in the same open-loop and account-based ticketing space as Snapper's contactless offering.
• Vix Technology: Transit ticketing and smart-card platform provider active in Australia, New Zealand, and other markets. Closely comparable to Snapper in offering end-to-end electronic ticketing for public transport operators.

Broad incumbents

• Cubic Transportation Systems: Large incumbent provider of transit payment and fare-collection systems globally (including Oyster in London and Opal in Sydney). A much larger competitor in the same smart-card and account-based ticketing category as Snapper.
• Conduent Transportation: Diversified transit services and fare-collection provider serving public transit agencies at scale. Competes with Snapper in delivering fare collection, revenue management, and transit analytics to operators.
• Flowbird (Parkeon): Provider of ticketing, payment, and mobility solutions for transit and parking across Europe and globally. Comparable as a broad incumbent in transit fare collection alongside Snapper's Mosaiq analytics suite.
• INIT (Innovations in Transportation): Provider of integrated public transport technology including ticketing, planning, and analytics. Comparable to Snapper for transit authority customers seeking end-to-end solutions, including the Mosaiq analytics layer.

Emerging players

• Token Transit: Mobile ticketing app for transit agencies in North America focused on small and mid-sized operators. Comparable to Snapper's mobile app and contactless product for cashless fare payment.

Regional players

• Octopus Cards (Octopus Holdings): Hong Kong's dominant contactless smart-card payment system for transit and retail. Architecturally and operationally similar to Snapper — a regional closed-loop smart card transit fare system.

Others

• Worldline / Axepta (transit acquiring): Global payments processor enabling open-loop and account-based ticketing acceptance for transit operators. Comparable as an enabler adjacent to Snapper's contactless credit/debit card payments capability.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/teamsnapper
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrafK-9eag3fxEDX9fdGK9Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/mySnapper
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/snapper-services-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Snapper