All French taxis now obliged to accept cards
 

As of October 2nd, all taxis in France are obliged to accept Visa and MasterCard. There are two reasons for this -- to serve the customers better and to prevent tax evasion on the part of the drivers. Therefore, the government encourages people to pay by card rather than paying cash, which also prevents drivers from saying that they have no change.

Naturally, some taxi drivers are still not accepting cards for a variety of invented reasons: "I'm still waiting for delivery of my machine." "All of the suppliers are out of stock." "I don't know how to use the terminal." This should fade away rather quickly, because many well equipped independent drivers have said that they are getting more business, even if they are 5th or 10th in line at a taxi stand, because customers can choose any taxi that they prefer, so if the first taxi says it cannot accept cards, all you have to do is call out to the others and ask if they will take a payment by card.

All of the big taxi companies like G7, Taxis Bleus, etc. have accepted cards for years already, but G7 has made a press release saying that if any G7 taxi makes you pay cash to ask for a receipt and G7 will refund your money. And then they will charge the taxi driver for the same amount.

Okay, this is fine for all of the big cities, but I recommend having cash on you when you take a train to those small towns that have just one or two taxis waiting in front of the station. You never know.

Good info, Kerouac. Thanks for the post.

Which type of cards are they accepting?
1. Real CHIP and PIN
2. CHIP and Signature - US "chip" cards are usually this type
3. Magnetic stripe only cards?

I'm delighted to hear this. We waited maybe 10 minutes at CDG last year for a taxi that would take credit cards.

ten whole minutes! Personally, it doesn't really matter to me, I always pay cash, anyway. There has been a battle where I live in the US over this issue, also, as some cab drivers don't want to pay for the equipment, although maybe they have other motives, don't know. By law, they have to take credit cards, also, but some refuse for short trips or claim their machine is broken. Most passengers don't want to bother trying to report them.

But the type of card they will accept is important given it's not that easy to get chip and PIN cards in the US.

Ok
So I book a G7 taxi, ask to pay cash, ask for a recipt (of course) and get refunded.

Ehehe, can't wait.

The handheld terminals accept both chip and magnetic strip cards, just like in restaurants.

Not sure about this but AX might not be accepted since it isn't always accepted in stores. Debit and credit cards work if they have MasterCard or Visa logos and you don't need a chip. If you want to leave a tip you have to do it in cash.

That's good to know, not that I'll be flying into France anytime soon. My gosh, 10 minutes! What a hassle. I've waited longer than that for ANY cab.

Really glad to hear this- will make my trip there much easier. Thanks for the info. Very helpful.

Timely information, thank you!

I wasn't complaining about waiting 10 minutes for a taxi that took credit cards, just giving a data point. I didn't mind waiting at all... and I've certainly flown into places where I had to wait much longer for a taxi.

Other good taxi news - the flat rate fare for airport runs is going to take effect in 2016 though no date has been set in stone yet. 50 EU from CDG and 35 from ORY, give or take 5 EU depending on Left or Right Bank address.

By the way Uber in all forms has been declared illegal and has been shut down by the French govt. though Uber is trying to appeal.

Uber is on its way out in many countries until new legislation takes hold.

The flat rate for airport runs is also good news!

I believe it is Uber pop which has been declared illegal, not Uber. But someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

No all of Uber was declared illegal about a week ago and the app was supposed to be shut down while they appeal.

I can't find any news reports about all of Uber being shut down, only Uber Pop. Would love to read about it.

FrenchMystiq and firacegirl - thanks - you were right I was wrong it was UberPop. Now Uber is giving deep discounts to make up for the loss of income. They are still appealing tho.
http://www.economiematin.fr/news-ube...imphal-illegal