
Swansea Council has ruled that all licensed hackney carriages and private hire vehicles in the city must install card payment machines, a move driven by passenger safety and the increasing reliance on digital payment methods.
The decision, made by the council’s general licensing committee, dictates that all newly licensed private hire and hackney carriages must carry card readers from December 2025.
Existing licence holders will be required to comply when their licences come up for renewal, meaning all licensed taxis in Swansea are expected to offer card payment options alongside cash by the end of 2026.
The change follows concerns that cash-only taxis risk leaving passengers "stranded" if they are not carrying notes or coins.
A public consultation held earlier this year found "overwhelming" support for the rule, with 82% of 417 respondents agreeing that card machines should be mandatory.
Andrew Williams, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, highlighted the reasons behind the mandate: "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."
He added: "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.

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