Pay your next cab fare via wireless mobile phone

16 July 2008

London's black cabs receive wireless technology.

London black cabs will soon have a proximity payment reader fitted within which will allow you to pay your fare via a wireless mobile phone. The readers are being fitted via the Bank Of Scotland bank and will initially be tested in 25 cabs.

According to The Register website, the technology comes with benefits for both cab owners and passengers as it makes the acceptance of smaller payments more attractive.

Currently, the percentage that a cab owner, equipped with a credit card reader, has to pay to a credit card company is relatively high resulting in many cabs demanding an extra charge from passengers for small payments to make it worth while for the cab owner.

The new wireless readers demand a much smaller cut of the fare which means that payments under £10 should be able to be completed without that surcharge.

The Royal Bank has named the new system PayPass.

Click to read The Register's story.