Amos Tamam: An Immigrant's Success Story

It interests me how people like Amos Tamam can become such successes through hard work, innovation, and diligence. I explained in an earlier post about how he developed a system so that cabbies in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere could accept credit cards rather than cash. Cash has always made cab drivers targets for robbers, and I wonder how many people's lives this simple innovation saved.

Through his innovations that allowed taxi riders to pay through a wireless credit card system, Amos Tamam started Taxitronic Inc. Now, this is not the only innovation involving taxis that he helped develop. He also helped to integrate global positioning systems and other state of the art equipment into taxis to make passengers more comfortable and safer. He is now CEO and president of Verifone Transportation Systems, Inc. and is a leading the way in marketing cutting edge technology for taxi passengers.

His success as an immigrant coming from Israel to New York City reminds me of the rags to riches stories that were written by Horatio Alger in the latter part of the 19th century. Amos Tamam is indeed riding a wave of success.

Amos Tamam: Taxi Innovator

Living in South Africa, anything someone can do to prevent crime gets my vote. I came across Amos Tamam and found out he was the one who created a system for New York taxi drivers to accept credit cards. This system has probably saved a number of taxi drivers from being robbed, and sounds like something that would go over well here in South Africa. I rarely carry more than the equivalent of US$5 in my pocket, but always have a credit card.

Amos Tamam has led an interesting life. Having trained as an electrical engineer in Israel, you might have thought he was working below his ability when he came to the United States and started servicing taxis in New York City. Instead, he thought of this little innovation that, including making a person able to pay for their cab via credit card, also gives the rider information about weather, sports, as well as local restaurants, nightlife, and even news.

Sounds like Amos Tamam has done well with his life, and I hope he continues to innovate, wherever his career takes him.