'I don’t have a bank account': Cork taxi driver on why he won't accept cards

Willie Wyse is willing to risk facing a judge in court following a controversial decision to refuse card payments in his cab. 

A Cork taxi driver said he is willing to risk facing a judge in court following a controversial decision to refuse card payments in his cab.

Willie Wyse, who works in Cork City, said he has already received two fixed penalty notices in relation to his strict ‘no card’ policy. Nonetheless, the ‘cash only’ signs emblazoned across his vehicle remain.

The bold statement runs contrary to measures introduced in September 2022 requiring taxi drivers to provide cashless transaction options. This means that a physical device or terminal to accept cashless payments is now mandatory in every taxi. Drivers are also prohibited from implementing surcharges on cashless transactions.

Mr Wyse says there are several reasons why he continues to only take cash.

“I don’t have a bank account, I don’t have a post office account and I don’t have a credit union account,” he told the Irish Examiner.

“I closed my bank account in 2010 after we bailed out the banks and I swore I’d never open one again. When I was told that this was going to be law in September of 2022, I put the signs up to save conflict. I was willing to go before the court and let the judge make the decision. If I have to I will, but taxi drivers are losing somewhere in the region of 5% to the card supplier and their bank. 

Willie Wyse with his 'No Card Payments, Cash Only' sign on his taxi. Picture: Jim Coughlan

"If you are taking fares by day and by night and they are all by card then that adds up. If you are looking at that on a monthly and daily basis you could be losing anything between €5,000 and €10,000 per year. If you are taking a cash job then you are taking the full fare.”

The Cork man said it is not the technology that worries him.

“This is not a technology issue. It’s about an authority trying to impose their will against people’s wishes. If what I’m doing is wrong then why aren’t more people prosecuted for not accepting cards?

I am the only taxi driver in town with signs up on my taxi saying ‘no card payments’ and ‘cash only.’ It’s on the windows. It’s on the dashboard. People pass me by and take another taxi and I don’t mind that, but I shouldn’t have to take cards.

Mr Wyse received a response to a Freedom of Information Act request he submitted in August which shows that some 45 fixed penalty notices were issued to taxi drivers between September 1, 2022, and August 21, 2023, after they refused to offer cashless transactions. There were 53 fixed penalty notices issued for failure to carry a functioning payment device in that same period. Two cases in total resulted in a conviction.

Fellow Cork taxi driver Billy Murphy said digital payment options come with their own challenges.

“In relation to cards, the machine is subject to a radio signal,” Mr Murphy said. “There are certain areas where you can’t make a card transaction because there is no signal. You might say that’s nothing but there are times when you have to drive a mile or two down the road just to get a radio signal. It’s like owning a television and having the signal going. How can you enforce something when you are not providing the facilities to make it work? This creates a lot of friction and it’s difficult for people to understand the real difficulty we are facing.”

In a statement, the National Transport Authority told the Irish Examiner: “The law was introduced on September, 1 2022 within the Small Public Service Vehicle (Cashless Payment Facility) Regulations 2022 (S.I 294 of 2022). As a result, it became a legal requirement for each taxi to have a functioning cashless payment device and for drivers to accept cashless payments. The NTA would ask customers to submit complaints through the Transport for Ireland website at www.transportforireland.ie/support/taxi-compliments-complaints

“A €200 fixed payment notice may be issued on foot of a complaint received for either of the following related offences: Failure to carry a functioning cashless payment device or failure to accept cashless payment.”

• This story is part of a special report on the Cork taxi crisis. The full report is available here.