City cabs beginning to accept foreign credit cards

Expatriates arriving in Shanghai without cash or Chinese digital pay apps are now able to use their foreign credit cards to take taxis.

Fifty taxis run by the Dazhong Transportation Group in Shanghai have been equipped with POS machines accepting foreign bank cards.

The move was announced at a payment optimizing launch ceremony by Dazhong and the Bank of China on Friday.

The action aims to tackle the problem of payment difficulties for foreigners.

Dazhong has become the first taxi company in Shanghai to support foreign-issued credit cards for payment.

"Dazhong started to pay attention to the issue of foreign card payment for cabs as early as last year," said Yang Guoping, chairman of Da Zhong Transportation Group.

The first 50 Dazhong taxis that completed the payment facilitation transformation were installed with POS machines that support foreign card payment by five major card organizations (VISA, MasterCard, America Express, DinersClub, and JCB). They also accept domestic and foreign cards issued by UnionPay, as well as WeChat, Alipay, and e-CNY.

In addition, the taxis are equipped with change kits containing small cash, and payment service guide brochures for foreign visitors.

Clear payment logos are also posted on the body of the taxis.

The first batch of 50 Dazhong taxis with POS machines supporting foreign cards has been put into use. The number will increase to 1,000 by the end of June and reach 2,000 by the seventh CIIE in November.