About CCS Group

Put a PIN in it

In 2007, Chip & PIN technology had just been launched in the UK. Two veteran entrepreneurs, Malcolm Jamieson and Richard Akitt, asked themselves a simple question: why is it so hard to pay by card in a taxi?

At the time, small businesses (including taxi drivers) were hugely underserved by card payment providers. The large acquiring banks expected businesses to open expensive merchant accounts and pay for costly, bulky payment terminals alongside substantial transaction fees.

All hail the taxi market

Foreseeing that the convenience and security of Chip & PIN technology would lead to a growth in card payments usage among consumers, Malcolm and Richard started CabCard Services, one of the first businesses of its kind in the UK, then known as a payments aggregator. The success of this model would later become widely accepted as businesses such as iZettle, Square and SumUp launched similar operations, becoming recognised as the Payment Facilitator model.

CabCard focused on serving the niche market of taxi fleets and their drivers, making it easy and inexpensive for them to take payments from their customers. As the UK business grew, we expanded our base in the Isle of Man, building a small team of developers, support and administration personnel.

Sister act

Before long, the growing popularity of card payments among UK consumers pointed to other opportunities, and a sister company called Optimus Pay was set up to serve other niche vertical markets, with CabCard remaining focused on the taxi sector.

Dash from cash

By 2018, debit card transactions overtook cash for the first time, highlighting the growing importance of card payments in the economy. This coincided with a major overhaul of the technology platform which powers both CabCard and Optimus, as well as the introduction of new pocket-sized payment terminal hardware for our customers.

2020 brought the shock of Covid-19 and a major shake-up for the way people pay, with the contactless limit rising to £100. The popularity of card payments exploded and cash was relegated firmly to the sidelines. We responded by being one of the first in the UK to introduce a SoftPOS tap to phone contactless payment solution, branded as CabCard Go, followed by a new online payments offering.

A new dawn

2022 saw us achieve the PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1 certification, the highest status available, which sees us recognised by both Mastercard and Visa in their global registries of service providers.

In 2023 we moved into our new home at Euromanx House in the Isle of Man Freeport, symbolising the start of a new chapter for the business.

Don’t bark at an underdog

We’re an independent, privately-owned and profitable business but every day we are competing with enormous global companies stuffed with venture capital cash, with huge budgets and a willingness to lose money for years. Our customers compare us on a like-for-like basis with behemoths like Stripe, SumUp, Zettle, Square and Revolut.

To put that in context, Stripe has raised nearly $9 billion of investment capital, and employs over 7,000 people. SumUp has raised $2 billion and employs 3,000 people. Meanwhile Block, Square’s publicly traded parent company, employs 13,000 people with a total market cap of $35 billion.

Our whole team fits into a minibus.

This is an enormous challenge which we face enthusiastically and head-on.

Our ambitions are huge. We’re on the road to our first £1 billion of annual Gross Payment Volume (GPV) but we need your help to get there, and for the journey beyond.