Cash‑only taxis told to install card machines in Swansea
From December 2025, newly licensed private hire and hackney taxis must carry card readers, following a decision by Swansea Council’s general licensing committee. Existing licence holders will need to comply when their licences are renewed, meaning some drivers may not be required to install machines until next year.
The move follows concerns from passengers that cash‑only taxis risk leaving people stranded if they don’t have notes or coins to hand. Many passengers now rely on contactless payments, Google Pay and other digital methods.
A public consultation held in May and June found strong support for the change, with 82% of respondents agreeing that card machines should be mandatory in all taxis. In total, 417 people took part, including 179 from the taxi industry.
Andrew Williams, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, said:
“Many taxi companies and individual taxi owners already use card reader technology as well as giving passengers the ability to pay fares via a smartphone app.
However, there are still many taxi drivers in the city that only allow payment by cash, and this could put would‑be passengers at risk of not being able to pay their fare if they are not carrying cash.
Our recent public consultation has shown overwhelmingly that passengers want to see modern payment methods being adopted in all licensed taxis operating in the city.”
The council first signalled the change in January 2025, when a report recommended consulting the public and taxi operators on mandatory card payments.
The new rules mean that by the end of 2026, all licensed taxis in Swansea are expected to offer passengers the option of paying by card as well as cash.
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