Taxi booking app takes card payment without surcharge

One of Singapore's most popular third-party taxi booking apps, Easy Taxi, has launched a new card payment facility that does without the regular 10 percent surcharge. 

Merchants are charged a fee, estimated to be between one to three percent, by banks for each credit card transaction. In most cases, this cost is passed on to customers, and inflated to 10 percent so as to cover administrative costs. However, Easy Taxi has decided to absorb this cost.

The app also allows customers to pay cash for their taxi fares.

Speaking to The Straits Times, Mr. Jianggan Li, co-founder and Managing Director of Easy Taxi Singapore, said the availability of credit card payment adds convenience to the whole taxi booking experience.

The only other taxi booking app that absorbs such administrative costs is UberTaxi, which was launched here last month. However, UberTaxi does not allow passengers to pay cash and charges $2 for cancelling a booking, which no other taxi booking app does.