Montreal cabs to accept credit and debit cards

MONTREAL – As of mid-October, all of the taxis in the city will have to accept credit and debit cards.

In a press release on Wednesday, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said that the change will help improve the security of the drivers, since they won’t have as much cash on them.

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He also said accepting electronic payments will offer customers a service worthy of a 21st century metropolis.

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“This is very good news for the taxi business,” said Dani Atallah, Vice-President of the Regroupement de Proprietaires de Taxis de Montreal.

“This puts us one step ahead of Uber and helps us with our fight against them.”

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In the past few years, cabbies have been facing some stiff competition from Uber, who only accept credit cards.

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“We have the technology for it,”said Atallah.

“We’ve been waiting for this to happen for a while.”

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As for what percentage of credit card sales will go to the city or who will be paying for the machines, Atallah said the details have not yet been figured out.