Best card machines for taxi drivers and private hire cabs

If you’re a self-employed taxi driver, you may need to install a card machine, and so do taxi fleet owners employing their drivers.

Either way, most taxis make more money with a card terminal so all passengers can pay the way they prefer. But what’s the best credit card machine for taxi drivers? We’ve tested quite a few that would suit taxis and shortlisted the best in this comparison.

Black cabs, private hire taxis and other licensed cab drivers in London have to abide by different rules than outside the city, which we’ll cover in the last section. The rules mean not all the card machines on this list are approved for London. For example, Zettle Reader and SumUp are not currently accepted.

Still, all the options included here are ideal for taxis throughout the UK.

>>For Irish alternatives, see this article instead

MobileTransaction’s top picks of card machines for taxis:

SumUp Air is a cheap card payment machine for taxi drivers. You buy it for £39 + VAT upfront, then pay only a fixed transaction fee of 1.69% for any card accepted. There’s no contractual commitment or monthly fees.

The card reader connects with a SumUp app on your phone or tablet, using the mobile device’s 3G or 4G network to process payments over the internet. The app also lets you send payment links, take QR code payments and more.

“I’ve always found the app very easy to use, with just the right amount of features like VAT and a transactions overview. The card reader might feel a bit slippery for cab drivers with its glass surface and rounded back, though.”

– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, MobileTransaction

Payments are automatically cleared in your bank account within 1-3 working days for no extra charge. With the SumUp Business Account and Mastercard, you can access transactions the day after, including on weekends.

SumUp accepts contactless and chip and PIN cards by Visa, V Pay, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, UnionPay and Discover, as well as the mobile wallets Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The wide choice of accepted cards makes it a good choice for taxis serving lots of tourists (for example, airport transfers). Furthermore, the low fixed transaction rate stays the same for foreign and premium cards in contrast with most other card machine deals that have higher rates for such cards.

Accepted cards

myPOS sells a few different card terminals without contractual commitment or fixed monthly costs.

The myPOS Go 2 terminal – for £39 + VAT plus a £6 delivery charge – is the cheapest and simplest model. It’s ideal for taxis because it’s independent, small and comes with a SIM card with unlimited data for card processing. It has mobile connectivity options (3G, 4G as well as WiFi) and should work in rural areas.

myPOS is more of a European company than UK-based. Their terminals and SIM cards work across the EU and EEA without having to put in a special agreement, so private hire drivers and taxis operating around the border (e.g. Northern Ireland/Ireland) could benefit from that flexibility.

Transaction rates are determined by the type of card and where it is issued. UK- and EEA-issued Visa or Mastercard cards issued cost 1.1% + 7p per transaction. American Express payments cost 2.45% + 7p and all other cards incur a fee of 2.85% + 7p.

Payments are settled immediately in an online myPOS e-money account, and you can access this money straight away through the complimentary Business Visa card. Transferring money from the e-money account to your bank account costs £1.50 per payout.

Accepted cards

CabCard Services is a UK-based company specialising in card terminals for taxi drivers. Over 10,000 taxi drivers use CabCard, and we can see why: the pricing is uncomplicated and very affordable, and it includes dedicated 24/7 customer support via phone, email and web chat.

What’s more, CabCard’s Pocket 4G Terminal (Datecs BluePad 55 model) has been approved by Transport for London for use in London’s licensed taxis together with a DPP-250 receipt printer.

Taxi drivers and fleet owners can choose between two card machine models: a larger terminal with receipt printing, and the Pocket 4G Terminal. The latter is the model featured for individual drivers.

CabCard Pocket 4G Terminal costs 99 + VAT upfront. It works independently, processing payments through the local 4G network through the built-in SIM card with data included. You can add tips directly on the card reader.

There are no monthly fees for this card machine, and the daily or weekly (your choice) bank account settlement is also free of charge. Instead of clearing transactions in a bank account, you can choose to process payouts to a prepaid Visa CabCard card.

For individual taxi drivers, all transactions incur a 5p authorisation charge in addition to the following rates:

• Personal Visa/Mastercard debit and credit cards issued in UK/EEA: 1.5%
• Business Visa/Mastercard debit cards issued in UK/EEA: 1.5%
• Business Visa/Mastercard credit cards issued in UK/EEA: 2.5%
• All non-EEA/UK Visa/Mastercard: 2.5%
• All Amex: 2.5%

Accepted cards

Compared with SumUp’s single rate of 1.69%, CabCard is marginally pricier for short journeys because of its fixed 5p added to transactions whereas longer journeys have a lower cost due to CabCard’s lower 1.5% rate for most cards.

Example: A £15 journey can cost 27.5p through CabCard or 25.4p through SumUp, compared with 80p (CabCard) versus 84.5p (SumUp) for a £50 trip. But CabCard’s 2.5% rate for international or premium cards can push fees higher (42.5p for a £15 journey, £1.30 for a £50 journey), making SumUp the smarter choice for airport journeys and tourist hotspots.

Taxi fleet owners can get special card rates (1% or less), the option to spread the cost of hardware over a contract term, and no setup or upfront charges. This includes software allowing you to monitor your fleet’s sales and driver performance in real time from the backend account. Fleets can get their contract tailored in different ways, e.g. by deciding how drivers get paid through the CabCard system.

Self-employed taxi drivers also have access to view transactions and payout times in a CabCard dashboard on a tablet or smartphone.

The Viva Wallet Black Cab Solution is a bundle containing a Datecs BluePad 55 card reader (same as CabCard’s) with a holder for the customer compartment and wireless receipt printer. This makes it compliant with Transport for London’s rules for Black Cabs, so it is on their list of approved card machines.

Taxi fleets and other private hire cabs can, however, also benefit from the taxi management features included in the solution.

The card reader requires downloading the Viva Wallet app on your smartphone. In this, you enter the transaction which is then sent to the card reader placed in the passenger compartment, ready for a contactless tap or chip and PIN transaction.

Pricing has to be requested from Viva Wallet directly, but everyone has the choice of paying either one upfront cost for the card reader (purchase) or a monthly subscription fee to avoid the upfront price. This can be cancelled any time – there’s no long-term contract.

Transaction rates also need to be requested from the company. Promisingly, everyone has the option to earn back the cost of transactions by using the complimentary Viva Debit Card for business expenses.

Another cool feat of the Viva Wallet Black Cab bundle is the fact you can accept cards offline on the card reader. So if you’re driving in rural areas or anywhere with a spotty network connection, this won’t be an issue for card payments.

Just note that transactions are only fully completed the next time there’s a live internet connection through the built-in SIM card, so there is a slight risk of it not going through if the card processor detects a problem then.

Accepted cards

Transactions settle in an online Viva Wallet business account the next day, though it is possible to manually deposit funds into a bank account, which takes a further 1-2 working days. The online account is linked to the Viva Debit Card, so it is most convenient to use this as your main business account.

Zettle Reader (previously iZettle Reader) is another low-cost card reader that works in conjunction with a mobile app. It normally costs £59 but the first one is £29 + VAT, and then you only pay a fixed transaction rate of 1.75% for any card accepted. There are no monthly fees and no contractual lock-in.

Zettle accepts the widest choice of credit and debit cards out of all options on this list. That includes Visa, V Pay, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, UnionPay, JCB, and the digital wallets Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. Like SumUp, Zettle’s fixed rate is the same for premium and foreign cards unlike many other card machine services that charge more for these.

Payments go directly into your bank account within 1-2 working days. There are no payout fees.

The card reader connects via Bluetooth with a compatible iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet with the Zettle Go app installed. You enter the fare amount in the app, and the card reader switches on, ready to accept a contactless or chip and PIN payment.

Receipts are sent via email or text from the app, but it’s also possible to connect a mobile receipt printer for paper receipts.

The payment app works like a simple point of sale (POS) system, with extra features like email invoices and tipping. You can also send payment links via text message or social apps for 2.5% per transaction, which could be used to secure an advance payment for a taxi booking. QR codes for PayPal payments in person are possible for 1.75% per transaction.

Accepted cards

Zettle’s customer service team is only available on weekdays between 9am and 5pm.

Similar to SumUp Air, there is no official card reader mount to secure Zettle Reader in the passenger compartment. That means you can only use it handheld in the cab, so it is currently not approved by Transport for London.

Learn more: Zettle Reader review – pretty card reader with POS app

Takepayments is a UK merchant service provider offering card machine contracts to a various small businesses, including taxi drivers. Their contracts are 18 months for a mobile terminal with a SIM card included.

Because the card machine is rented, you pay a monthly charge – for instance, £25 + VAT for the Takepaymentsplus plan. Card rates are based on your expected turnover, transaction size and types of cards accepted. If you want to accept Amex, you’ll need to get an extra contract with American Express.

A downside for self-employed taxi drivers working uneven hours is the monthly minimum sales volume charge – if you don’t make a specific minimum (determined at the start of your contract) for a month, you pay a charge from £10 + VAT. Although there’s no setup fee, you pay an early termination fee if you want to leave before the 18 months are up.

Transaction rates vary between payment cards. The range of fees is typically 0.3%-2.5% with the lowest fees attributed to domestic, personal Mastercard and Visa cards. Foreign, premium cards usually have the highest fees. You also pay a flat authorisation charge on top of the percentage.

Takepayments likes to get to know its merchants before signing them up, and it is during this conversation that you can inquire about card machines.

Accepted cards

Takepayments’ main card machine, PAX A920Pro, is not currently approved for London taxi drivers, but it may be accepted if you ask Transport for London. That’s because the card machine has a receipt printer and can be fixed to a car.

Takepayments’ customer support is available to phone every day of the week, but only within opening hours: weekdays between 8am-7pm, Saturdays 9am-5pm, and Sundays between 9am-1pm.

Learn more: Takepayments review – standard contracts, but good deal

PayaCardServices offers a taxi-specific card payment solution (sometimes called Payataxi) that includes a Miura M010 card reader, Bluetooth printer for receipts and card reader mount for the passenger compartment. This setup makes it suitable for London taxis.

The terminal only works with a connected mobile app on your phone, so you’ll need a phone to process payments.

You can choose between several different price plans depending on whether you are a black cab driver or private hire driver. The most tailored solutions are for private hire fleets, but black cab drivers get multiple pricing options.

The black cab solutions has three main options (prices exclude VAT):

Pay Weekly, option 1: £75 installation fee, £4.99 a week, 2.69% +15p Mastercard/Visa, 3.95% +15p Amex

Pay Weekly, option 2: £75 installation fee, £99 for hardware kit, £2.99 a week, 2.39% +15p Mastercard/Visa, 3.95% +15p Amex

Buy Outright: £75 installation fee, £299 for hardware kit, no weekly fee, 1.99% +15p Mastercard/Visa, 3.95% +15p Amex

Accepted cards