2001. The year that changed the entertainment, attractions, and amusement industries forever with the establishment of Embed as an independent operation. From that moment on, the focus was revolutionizing the world of the debit card system.
With just four staff members, including founder Adam Steinberg, Embed set its sights on redeveloping the technology to include additional features and functionality to appeal to international operators.
In what sounds like the plot of a major motion picture, Embed established itself as an industry leader. Now, two decades later, the Embed team has grown to over 100 staff members and continues to transform the industry with its award-winning innovations.
Let’s take a trip back in time to revisit some of Embed’s most noteworthy moments over the past 20 years.
- Embed was established in Australia and has grown to be a global powerhouse, opening offices in Dallas (2005), Dubai (2008), and Singapore (2014).
- In 2002, Embed’s first site, “Chakazoolu,” was opened in Bahrain. Since then, Embed’s technology has empowered the businesses of over 1,000 customers, featuring more than 3,000 installations worldwide.
- Embed’s COLOR-GLO technology took the industry by storm in 2006, featuring industry benchmark features as standard: Playwave® contactless, touchscreen, dual speaker audio, dual ticket operation, and so much more. Winning IAAPA’s prestigious IMPACT Award cemented this technology’s importance on the industry’s evolution.
- In 2017, Embed acquired Booking Boss demonstrating its commitment to offering solutions that help operators increase profits while creating better experiences for guests.
- Embed partnered with Apple and Google to launch the Mobile Wallet, making Embed a non-finance, non-loyalty card that sits in the guest’s mobile wallet. This ground-breaking innovation won AMOA Operator’s Choice Award and received an Amusement Today Golden Ticket Award honorable mention for the “Innovation of the Year” in 2020.
- Demonstrating its commitment to the industry’s recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic, Embed established its COVID-19 Relief Act, giving the award-winning Mobile Wallet and Mobile Portal away to all (customer or not) free for 1-year. As a follow-up, Embed established the COVID-19 Resource Center, including free resources for FECs to use, like creative toolkits, downloadable insight papers, blog content, and conversations with industry experts through the EmbedLIVE video series.
Throughout its history, Embed has made tremendous progress in establishing itself as a technology leader and progressing the industry by building innovative and progressive solutions. There is no doubt that the industry’s future is driven by creativity and innovation, which is why Embed worked so hard to position itself as the leader of the pack – and its dreams are coming to fruition thanks to the hard work and dedication of the entire global Embed team.
Looking at where Embed started and progressed to, it’s an inspiring story for entrepreneurs across all industries. Knowing Embed’s story of innovation, grit, and determination, one can only begin to imagine where the company will land in the next 20 years.
The opportunities are limitless – and so here’s to seeing what Embed has in store for the future.
