Are you a taxi driver on a mission to find the best card machine for work?
With just under half of all payments in the UK taking place by debit card, card transactions have now become the standard form of tender at POS (point of sale) across the country.
Further still, it is estimated that a third of all transactions in the UK are now contactless.
This universal adoption of electronic payments as the dominant method has moved local authorities like TfL (Transport for London), most notably, to take a mandatory stance on taxis and fleets under their jurisdiction, making it compulsory that they offer their customers the option of card payments.
And now, forced by trend, if you are a self-employed taxi driver, taxi fleet owner, or black cab driver without a card payment machine and researching the market…
…you’ll be looking for the best value card machine deal for offering your customers this modern commercial convenience.
In this article, we will compare the best card machines for taxis (self-employed drivers and fleet owners), identify which solutions meet the *TfL criteria (relevant if you are based in London), weigh up the pros and cons of each deal and give example fare costs to help you make the right buying decision.
Contents
UK card machines for taxis, black cabs and private hire car drivers
Sum Up | Zettle | myPOS | Square | TakePayments | FIS Global | Dojo | Cabapp | Taxiworld | Curb | Viva Wallet | Farepay | Cabvision | CabCard | |
Reader |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Upfront cost | £39 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £150 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £59.00 or £129.00 | £195 or £0 | £0 | £25.00 just reader / £166.66 TfL bundle | £99.00 |
Transaction fees | 1.69% | 1.75% | 1.10% + 0.07 | 1.75% | 0.3% - 2.5% + flat fee | 1.50% | 1.4% + 5p | 2.7% + 25p | £0 for fares up to £5; 3.75% for fares between £5 and £100 | 1.5% | From 1.41% (0.2% + 0.15% - 0.65% + 1.16%) | 3.95% + 20p | 1.99% + 10p (PAYG) | 1.5% + 5p |
Monthly rental | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £7.50 | £17.50 | £20.00 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 or £9.00 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
Plan | PAYG | PAYG | PAYG | PAYG | 1 Month / 12 Months | 18 Months | 6 Months (then 1 Month rolling) | PAYG | PAYG | PAYG | PAYG | PAYG | PAYG | PAYG |
App or GPRS | Both | Both | Both | Both | Both | GPRS | Both | App | App | Both | GPRS | App | App | GPRS |
Bank payouts | 1-3 days | 1-2 days | Instant | 1 day | 1 day | 1 day | 1 day | 2 - 3 days | Tuesdays & Fridays | 2-3 days (free) / 1 day (£0.25) | 1 day | 2-3 days (free) / same day (£0.30) | 1 day | 2 - 3 days (free) |
Cards accepted | V, VE, VP, AE, D, UP, MC, M, JCB, SP, GP, AP | V, VE, VP, AE, D, UP, MC, M, JCB, SP, GP, AP | V, VE, VP, AE, D, UP, MC, M, JCB, SP, GP, AP, BC, iD, iP | V, MC, AE, M, VE, VP | V, VE, VP, AE, D, UP, MC, M, JCB, SP, GP, AP | V, VE, VP, AE, D, UP, MC, M, JCB, SP, GP, AP | V, VE, VP, AE, D, UP, MC, M, JCB, SP, GP, AP | V, MC, AE, M, VE, VP | V, MC, AE, M, VE, VP | V, M, MC, AE | V, VE, VP, AE, D, MC, JCB | [Not stated] | V, VE, VP, AE, D, UP, MC, M, JCB, SP, AP | V, VE, VP, AE, D, MC, JCB |
Fleet package | Over £10k per month | Over £10k per month | No | Over £16k per month | Sliding scale | No | Over £12.5k per month | No | No | No | RFQ | No | No | RFQ |
Offline payments | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Printer type | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Seperate | eReceipt | Built in | Built in | Separate | Separate | Seperate |
TfL approved | Only previously installed machines | Only previously installed machines | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Recommended card machines for taxis and fleets
Curb – best value for money (lowest transaction rate)
Curb provide a comprehensive range of mobile payment solutions including contactless, specifically designed for fleets and taxi drivers.
We recommend Curb because: they currently offer the lowest percentage transaction fee at 1.5% – without any additional flat fee.
Fare example: a £15.00 job would cost 23p.
They offer 3 solutions:
- CurbPay App
- mPOS
- Victory
CurbPay App
CurbPay App is a downloadable phone app that makes getting started with accepting card payments as a taxi driver super simple.
Download the app and within minutes transform your mobile phone into a portable payment terminal.
No additional hardware, no installation and no need for expensive maintenance arrangements.
Using the app alone means that you forego the upfront charge of buying a card reader and get started immediately.
Price: £12.00 (inc. 12 months subscription, no contract)
Here are further benefits of CurbPay App:
- contactless payments
- e-receipts
- reports
- bill payments
- customer discounts
mPOS
mPOS is a lightweight portable payment terminal that tethers into your mobile phone via Bluetooth, powered by an app.
No bigger than a small mobile phone (literally pocket sized), the mPOS is conveniently proportioned to work well as a portable payment device.
Price: £59.00 (no monthly fees, no fixed term contract)
These are just some of the feature highlights of the CurbPay mPOS:
- secure and PCI compliant
- mobile tethered
- touchscreen
- chip & pin or contactless
- WiFi and Bluetooth
Victory
Victory is the portable all-in-one mobile payment terminal with built-in receipt printer from CurbPay, and so in our opinion it’s a best fit for use as a taxi card terminal.
This durable, portable payment terminal for taxis offers a user-friendly interface and easy set-up for users.
In the background, the smart automated monitoring system keeps the terminal’s operative status in tip-top shape for continued reliable service.
Price: £129.00 (no monthly fees, no fixed term contract)
The Victory CurbPay card reader offers:
- all-in-one portable payment terminal
- integrated printer
- chip & pin or contactless
- WiFi or Bluetooth
- touchscreen
- rich media display
CabVision – Transport for London Bundle
CabVision (trading under the name of CabPay) is a mobile point of sale solution for taxi drivers across the UK, but are also TfL approved.
We recommend CabVision because: their TfL approved bundle is £166.66 (+VAT) as a neat purchase and includes everything you need to be compliant.
Price: Their solution charges a single tidy percentage per transaction (1.99% + 10p flat fee to cover authorisation and PCI compliance).
Fare example: a job of £25.00 would cost 60p.
They offer next day bank transfer and 24/7 support.
Their driver portal enables fleet managers to run real-time reports on transaction activity across all team members.
There are no contract, nor hidden fees – what you see is what you get.
If you want CabVision to install the machine, they charge £70.00 (+VAT).
VivaWallet – No signal? No problem!
VivaWallet is a black cab mobile payment solution with unique benefits.
Officially recognised by TfL and built as a bespoke terminal, not following after the copycat OEM devices used by some of the competition.
We recommend Viva Wallet because: it accepts card payments even in areas where there is poor phone signal, or even no signal at all! This guarantees you get paid no matter your location.
If you’re obliged to meet TfL’s stipulations, the card reader is mountable in all versions of black cab vehicle (TXe (LEVC), Dynamo and TX4).
Price: From 1.41% per transaction (0.2% + 0.15% – 0.65% + 1.16%) + one-off payment for the terminal
VivaWallet offers the following features:
- easy installation
- fleet operation supported
- chip & pin and contactless
- paper and electronic receipts
- no contract
- next day settlements
- all cards accepted
CabCard – Flexible pricing for fleets
CabCard is a very competitively positioned card payment machine for taxis. It’s a simple looking standalone terminal that does the job – 4G enabled and accepts all major cards.
We recommend CabCard because: it offers the most flexibility on pricing and service options for fleets.
Even though it’s low-budget cost, it still packs in some premium features including:
- standalone (no mobile required)
- dashboard reporting
- next day payouts
- integrated with various data dispatch systems like Cab9, for example
Price: 1.5% (on personal Visa and Mastercard) + 5p, but room for negotiation for fleet sign-up (1% or less)
Fare example: a job of £12.00 would cost 23p as standard and somewhere in the region of perhaps 10p at fleet pricing.
CabCard also offers:
- real-time monitoring of driver’s transactional activity
- fleets have option to spread out the hardware cost over contract period
- payments can go direct to the driver’s bank account
- no payout fees
- no minimum fares
Taxiworld – Automatic Tip Bump Up
Taxiworld is mobile payment solution that has the aim of providing London black cabs with the most innovative payment tool.
We recommend TaxiWorld because: of it’s smart auto-tip suggest function for increasing conversions on bumping up the fare. They even guarantee that the tips you’ll receive in a month will cover you transaction fees, if not, they’ll forego their fees.
TaxiWorld’s payment terminal is part of a range of professional black cab taxi tools including meters, cameras and insurance.
Price: £0 on fares under £5.00; 3.75% on fares between £5.00 and £100.00; £3.95 on fares over £100.00
Fare examples: a job worth £4.00 would be free (£0), a £14.00 job would be 53p and £150.00 would be £3.75.
Taxiworld also offers the following benefits:
- QR code for instant e-receipt
- printed receipts are one-click
- payouts on Tuesdays and Fridays
- integrated cameras
- activity dashboard for each driver via an app
Transport for London requirements for accepting card payments
According to Transport for London, all taxis and private hire vehicles:
“…must be fitted with a TfL approved card payment device installed in the passenger compartment which has the facility to produce a printed receipt upon request by the passenger.”
Here are TfL’s card payment requirements for London’s taxis:
- must accept card payments via the TfL approved card terminal
- terminal must be installed in the passenger compartment
- driver must provide printed receipts upon the customer’s request
- any taxi found not complying will be declared unfit and not reinstated until an approved system installed and inspection taken place
- there are no exemptions
Click here to download the approved card machine supplier’s list found on the official TfL website.
Choosing a card machine for your taxi or fleet
Making the right decision of card machine for accepting card payments will take some consideration.
There are so many solutions available to taxi drivers and fleets and the features/benefits on offer all add spin on the deal.
Without proper analysis you might miss out on added value that might save money or give revenue generating advantage.
To help you make the most suitable and profitable decision for your taxi business, here are our tips for choosing a card machine:
- London-based? If you are operating in London, you are bound by law to meet TfL’s requirements. Make sure you are accessing deals that are on the approved supplier’s list.
- Taxi or fleet: make sure you are on the right tariff. For most providers, they tailor their transaction fees to reflect the volume of sales revenue traded via the machine in a month. High volumes of trade will attract lower transaction fees. One good example of this is CabCard, who’s standard fee of 1.5% drop to 1% and lower for fleets.
- Project your spread of transaction type: ‘card not present’ transactions, for example, are more costly than ‘card present’ transactions. This becomes relevant if you expect to take high proportions of payments over the phone, let’s say for long distant jobs where deposits are required in advance.
- Compare actual transaction costs: delve into the small print on transaction cost, make sure you run comparisons between providers. Flat fees can skew things, so make sure to build some realistic scenarios out on paper and figure in all factors.
- Trade-off the cost benefits between contract and PAYG: what you’ll quickly find as you start to run some quotes for card machine costs is that providers are targeting very specific users with their offer. Certain offers will be attractive to some taxi businesses and not to others. Weigh both contract and PAYG offers in the balance and choose carefully taking into account your long term return on investment.
- Spread out the hardware cost: (if you plan to buy multiple units) minimise the hit on upfront costs by spreading out the cost across the term of the contract.
- Ask if installation is included: often providers will include installation – especially if you are London-based and need to adhere to TfL’s mandate.
Next step, compare quotes from card machines providers for your taxi business
Take advantage of our quotes comparison service for gathering competitive price estimates from leading providers of card machine for your taxi business.
Simply hit the button beneath, then fill out the form and receive up to 4 comparative quotes within 24 hrs.