NYC Commuters Can Pay Taxis with Amex Reward Points (Oct. 21, 2013)
American Express cardholders traveling by taxi in New York City now are able to pay their fares using membership reward points. The technology enabling this payment method began rolling out today to the more than 7,000 VeriFone Systems in-taxi devices.
When customers reach their destination and choose to pay with credit, they will be prompted by the Taxi TV screen to swipe their card. When Amex cardholders swipe an eligible card enrolled in the rewards program, they will receive an on-screen prompt giving them the option to use points for their ride fare, including tip and tolls.
Eligible cards are those that are enrolled in the U.S. Membership Rewards program that are current, not in default and contain enough points to cover the full amount of the taxi ride. Corporate cards are not eligible.
“We’re leveraging our unique technology to bring it to life at the most critical commerce touch point—the physical point of sale,” said Leslie Berland, senior vice president, digital partnerships and development, American Express. “As a company with 163 years of roots in lower Manhattan, it means even more to be able to debut this new utility in the iconic New York yellow cabs in partnership with VeriFone.” A spokesperson tells Paybefore that it’s possible Amex could expand the program to other cities, but the company has nothing to announce now.
In August, VeriFone launched its cloud-based Way2ride app in thousands of taxi cabs in New York City enabling riders to tap to pay using any iOS or Android smartphone.
