Barclaycard Business and Computer Cab plc have announced the unveiling of the first taxi contactless payments system, at the Business Travel Show held in Earl’s Court last month.

This interesting partnership sees Barclaycard and ComCab team up to fit a ‘concept cab’ with Visa ‘wave and pay’ technology in order to demonstrate how the taxi company could offer customers a secure and efficient way to pay for low value (less than £10) taxi fares.

These new developments from Barclaycard follow the announcement last year that Barclays would be combining chip-and-pin technology for credit card payments alongside that of the Oyster Card. This card, now fully rolled out, also allows customers to pay for low-cost items in shops without having to enter a pin number.

The innovations made by Visa’s ‘wave and pay’ system could change the lives of millions of people who would like to avoid the accumulation of loose change in their pockets. The system, currently being tested by Barclays and competing banks in a range of formats, requires customers to pass a credit card in front of an electronic reader in order to make small payments.