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These are illegal correct? I took a taxi today and was charged a debit fee. I told the driver they were made illegal and he said the law was changed again. I had him write a receipt saying I was charged a debit fee because I'm certain it's illegal.

City council passed a $1.50 transaction fee. It is totally legal. Shitty thing about this is that a taxi driver on another thread was complaining about high fees....then it worked out with a new machine no fees were charged above the machine rental. This debit fee now is pretty much pure profit for the company.

Can anyone enlighten the masses as to what the machine rental / lease fees might be, and perhaps the minimum length of rental / lease agreement. Can the units be shared between drivers / cars or must each driver or car have its own.  
 
I've often heard the term pure profit used. When the details are made clear the term "pure profit" usually doesn't apply.

fargobob said "Can anyone enlighten the masses as to what the machine rental / lease fees might be, and perhaps the minimum length of rental / lease agreement. Can the units be shared between drivers / cars or must each driver or car have its own.     I've often heard the term pure profit used. When the details are made clear the term "pure profit" usually doesn't apply. "

From a driver on another thread...  
No fee for debit.  
2.75% for visa and mc  
Attached to my cell phone via Bluetooth.  
No need to charge service fee to the customer.  
Cost to me per month is less than $20.  
To gain an extra 1500 in income per month.  
 
So to use visa or mc on a $20 cab ride transaction fee charged to cab is 55 cents. Zero on debit use. And the less than $20 a month for the machine equates to less than 14 charges of $1.50 to pay off the monthly use of machine. Funny how cabs get to charge this extra $1.50 fee yet how come grocery stores getting hit with much higher fees don't charge $1.50 to customers.

I'd be pleasantly surprised if all costs actually do end up as less than $20.00 month. My personal experience (albeit not with this particular system) would suggest it will end up being more.  
 
I would really like to hear from someone that has been using this system long enough to determine actual total costs including any transaction fees, processing costs and equipment leasing or rental fees.

fargobob said "I'd be pleasantly surprised if all costs actually do end up as less than $20.00 month. My personal experience (albeit not with this particular system) would suggest it will end up being more.     I would really like to hear from someone that has been using this system long enough to determine actual total costs including any transaction fees, processing costs and equipment leasing or rental fees. "

Just looked at the PAYD Pro System through the Royal Bank. Monthly equipment rental of $19.95. Sign up today and waive the first 3 months. So reading into it, it only is 20 bucks a month on equipment costs. Free interac debit transactions. 2.65% for most credit card transactions (slightly higher if having to manually input card). Doesn't seem to have these hidden fees or extra charges. Mind you, you will need a cell phone with data coverage. I guess that bill could then be split over telephone expense and POS expense. Depends how you want to look at it. I haven't see a cab driver that didn't have a smartphone.

I have been using this type of debit machine since March. Yes it attaches to my cel phone via Bluetooth. And uses the data plan on my phone to process the transaction. It is faster and cheaper.  
This is a paperless transaction. If a customer wants a receipt. They input their email. And the receipt is sent.  
I pay 19.95/ month plus taxes. And 2.6% on credit card transactions. No fees on debit. I have payed the monthly fee plus an additional 4.00/month for cc purchases.  
In the month of June I processed 57 transactions. I honestly forget the 1.50 fee on 53 of them. Because the fee isn't important to me.  

If anyone has a question about this debit machine. I'll try and answer them.

MrD said "I have been using this type of debit machine since March. Yes it attaches to my cel phone via Bluetooth. And uses the data plan on my phone to process the transaction. It is faster and cheaper.   This is a paperless transaction. If a customer wants a receipt. They input their email. And the receipt is sent.   I pay 19.95/ month plus taxes. And 2.6% on credit card transactions. No fees on debit. I have payed the monthly fee plus an additional 4.00/month for cc purchases.   In the month of June I processed 57 transactions. I honestly forget the 1.50 fee on 53 of them. Because the fee isn't important to me.   "

I tip my hat to you MrD. Taking advantage of the $1.50 charge you could have pocketed another $60 dollars. For a machine that costs less than 50 cents a day, that is all part of doing business. Nickel and diming every customer like that to me is just poor business.

MrD said "I have been using this type of debit machine since March. Yes it attaches to my cel phone via Bluetooth. And uses the data plan on my phone to process the transaction. It is faster and cheaper.   This is a paperless transaction. If a customer wants a receipt. They input their email. And the receipt is sent.   I pay 19.95/ month plus taxes. And 2.6% on credit card transactions. No fees on debit. I have payed the monthly fee plus an additional 4.00/month for cc purchases.   In the month of June I processed 57 transactions. I honestly forget the 1.50 fee on 53 of them. Because the fee isn't important to me.   "

drivers are using the system that your using or similar? I'm thinking your currently in the minority.

Using this system is rare. Most drivers are still using the older machines.  
The monthly fees are over $80/month on those machines.  
The reason why the fee is so high, each machine has a SIM card to attach to the network. Each machine has to process the transaction using its own data plan.  
So the fee to cover the data plan and the SIM card is a lot higher.  
The payd machine uses no SIM card and no data plan. It uses my cell phone SIM card and data plan.

Thanks MrD. Your answers clarify the issues behind this technology.  
 
Things change rapidly in our world today. I'm happy to hear you have been able to find a system that allows you to keep your costs so much lower than it was only a short time ago.

So, you need a taxi. "Why" I ask myself. Maybe your going out for dinner, maybe the bar, maybe you don't or cant have your licence. Who knows why you need a taxi, but you need one. So throw a fricken $20 in your pocket and call a taxi. Or maybe get the driver to stop at a bank machine somewhere.  
I don't hear anybody whining that the banks charge you a fee to get your own money out. You expect the convenience of using your debit card but expect the taxi driver to pay a monthly fee to provide you that convenience.  
Think about this. not every taxi has a debit machine. When you request a debit taxi, that taxi could be 50 blocks away, so now he's burning unnecessary time and gas to satisfy your needs. At the end of his shift he/she has to spend time and resources organizing cash outs and books. The driver also has to wait for the bank to pay him for that trip. I can go on and on, but Im just getting angry now. So next time you get excited about having to pay $1.50 extra think about how much simpler for everyone it would be if you just had a 20 in your pocket.

How many times this same old topic keeps coming up. Debit fees in taxicabs, imagine that, having to pay to use an added convenience. Could somebody please explain why taxi drivers and taxi companies shouldn't be allowed to make a profit? After all, they are businesses, aren't they?  
 
The reason businesses exist in the first place is to make a profit for their owners and their shareholders. That is why businesses are started. Contrary to what may be popular belief, businesses don't exist to provide jobs and they certainly don't exist to give away their products and services at cost.  
 
Someone mentioned that the stores aren't charging the debit fees. Well, you can fool yourself into believing that if you want to, but unless you know exactly what amount a store pays for every item from their supplier, you have no way of knowing how much profit the store is making on an individual item. You can however rest assured that you are paying those debit fees. The fees and all of the store's other expenses are hidden in the price you pay at the checkout. It's the same as the plastic shopping bags. When you shop at Superstore you know how much you pay for bags. When you shop at other stores you are not getting free shopping bags. The cost of the bags is included in the price you pay for your merchandise. You don't see the cost, but you are paying it.  
 
 
 
 
 
Edited by Triplethreat, 2015-07-08 00:37:20

JustanotherNobody said " So, you need a taxi. "Why" I ask myself. Maybe your going out for dinner, maybe the bar, maybe you don't or cant have your licence. Who knows why you need a taxi, but you need one. So throw a fricken $20 in your pocket and call a taxi. Or maybe get the driver to stop at a bank machine somewhere.   I don't hear anybody whining that the banks charge you a fee to get your own money out. You expect the convenience of using your debit card but expect the taxi driver to pay a monthly fee to provide you that convenience.   Think about this. not every taxi has a debit machine. When you request a debit taxi, that taxi could be 50 blocks away, so now he's burning unnecessary time and gas to satisfy your needs. At the end of his shift he/she has to spend time and resources organizing cash outs and books. The driver also has to wait for the bank to pay him for that trip. I can go on and on, but Im just getting angry now. So next time you get excited about having to pay $1.50 extra think about how much simpler for everyone it would be if you just had a 20 in your pocket. "

but it's probably because no other business charges you to use a debit card.  
 
Even credit cards are used for free at almost any other business so why are taxi's different?

Hey Mr.Nobody welcome to 2015!  
 
We are moving more and more into a paperless society. Paying with plastic and even just your cell phone is becoming more common.  
 
Fees on mobile debit used to be to help recoup the cost of having a dedicated data plan for the machines but now with it being able to be processed with your cell phone that extra cost is eliminated.  
 
As for added time doing your books it is actually easier you just print out your end shift totals and its all done for you, no counting cash. The money is also transferred to your account pretty fast and no need to drive to the bank to make a deposit. Also less cash in the car when you get robbed. Also if you are 50 blocks away from a fare in Brandon you need to hire a new dispatcher. Lastly last time I took a cab it was a less then 5 minute ride for a few blocks and it was darn near $12! Maybe if there wasn't 85 cabs for a city of 45,000 it wouldn't be so hard to make a buck!!  
 
Realistically taxis should be giving a discount for riders making their life easier and more convenient  
 
 
 
Edited by GuyR, 2015-07-08 07:19:02