At the end of every airport trip, the same question: how are you paying. Most people default to whatever they have in their hand. Some options cost you less, some cost you more, and one of them has a surprising fraud history attached to it. Here is what every registered Melbourne airport taxi will accept in 2026, what the surcharges are, and the method I actually use when I am the passenger.
What all registered taxis accept
By law, every unbooked taxi in the Melbourne metro zone has to accept:
- Cash. Australian dollars, no minimum. No surcharge.
- Credit and debit cards. Visa, Mastercard, and Amex through the regulated meter-unit terminal. Maximum surcharge 4 percent.
- Cabcharge. Corporate account cards specific to Australian taxis. Maximum surcharge 6 percent.
- Contactless (tap). Apple Pay, Google Pay, contactless credit/debit. Same 4 percent surcharge as regular card.
That is the regulated minimum. Individual operators may also accept:
- PayPal or digital wallets through newer terminals.
- Pre-paid fares charged at the time of booking (common for fixed-fare operators).
- MPTP subsidy cards (Multi Purpose Taxi Program) for eligible Victorian concession holders.
Every one of those has a different fine print worth knowing.
The card surcharge rules
The Essential Services Commission sets the maximum surcharge rates for card payments in Victorian taxis.
| Payment type | Max surcharge |
|---|---|
| Credit / debit card (Visa, MC, Amex) | 4% |
| Contactless (tap, Apple Pay) | 4% |
| Cabcharge | 6% |
| Cash | None |
A surcharge higher than these caps is illegal. If you see 5 percent on a Visa transaction, the driver is overcharging you. The surcharge appears as a line-item on the receipt labelled "CARD SURCHARGE" or "Non-cash payment surcharge".
For a $68.83 CBD fare, the maximum legitimate card surcharge is $2.75 (4% of the fare). Anything above that is wrong.
Cash
The simplest and still common.
- Zero surcharge. You pay exactly what the meter shows plus the airport access fee and toll.
- Australian dollars only. Don't expect drivers to accept USD, GBP, or Euros. Change it at the airport exchange before leaving the terminal.
- Large denominations. Most drivers can break a $100 for a $80 fare, but smaller notes help.
- Tipping is not expected. You round up if you feel inclined. A $4 tip on a $68 fare is normal in business travel.
Cash is the most private option and the cheapest in total paid. The downsides: carrying Australian cash after a long international flight, no automatic receipt trail, and you still need the driver's printed receipt for any expense claim.
See your exact fare — enter your suburb
Fixed price, all tolls and GST included. No card required.
Credit and debit cards
The default for most business travellers.
- 4 percent surcharge maximum applies, added to the total fare.
- Processed through the meter-unit terminal — look for the tamper-sealed unit connected to the meter, not a separate terminal.
- Contactless tap or chip-and-PIN both work. Tap is faster. Chip-and-PIN is safer against skimming.
- Foreign cards are accepted but may incur additional international-transaction fees from your own bank.
The skimming caveat. I covered this in the scams post. A small number of drivers have been caught using modified NFC readers to copy card data from contactless taps. Using chip-and-PIN (insert card, type PIN) avoids this because the tokenised transaction data cannot be cloned the same way. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also safe because the numbers on your phone are tokenised, not your real card number.
My rule: insert and PIN rather than tap, every time, at a taxi.
Cabcharge
A corporate account card specific to Australian taxis. Common in government, consulting, and large professional services firms.
- 6 percent surcharge maximum.
- Charged to your employer directly, not your personal card.
- Accepted in every registered Melbourne taxi. Not all rideshare services accept it.
- Slower to process than regular card because it uses a dedicated terminal and sometimes requires a signature.
For travellers with a Cabcharge, the 6% surcharge is usually absorbed by the employer and not worth comparing against the 4% on a personal card.
MPTP — Multi Purpose Taxi Program
The Multi Purpose Taxi Program is a Victorian subsidy scheme for eligible concession holders (severe disability, mobility restrictions, other qualifying conditions). Members pay 50 percent of the fare; the state pays the other 50 percent directly to the driver through the MPTP card swipe.
- Maximum subsidised trip is $60 member contribution (i.e. $120 total fare). Any amount over that the passenger pays normally.
- Only registered MPTP smartcards are accepted. Not a paper card or a form.
- Eligibility is set by the Department of Transport and Planning and members carry a photo ID to match their MPTP number.
The MPTP page on our site covers the program in more detail.
Pre-paid / pre-authorised bookings
For fixed-fare pre-booked operators (including this one), the payment flow is a little different.
- Card held at booking. The total fare is pre-authorised on your card at the time you book.
- Charged on completion. Actual charge happens when the trip finishes.
- Receipt sent by email, not printed in the car (though some operators still print as a backup).
This is the standard corporate booking pattern and removes the at-kerb payment step entirely. The driver simply drops you off and drives away.
What to do if the driver says the card machine is broken
The most common payment scam in Melbourne taxis. I covered it in the scams post.
The play: meter reads $50, driver says his card machine is broken, he pulls out a backup terminal or a manual swipe carbon-copy, writes in $70, and asks for your signature.
The fix:
- Ask to pay by cash if you have it. Cash always works.
- Ask the driver to radio head office for an electronic receipt. Every operator has this capability.
- If neither works, offer to pay half and follow up with the operator. The driver will usually find that the machine has mysteriously come back to life.
- If forced onto a backup, write in the actual meter amount yourself. And take a photo of the receipt.
A machine that is broken for this passenger and working for the next one was not really broken.
Best practice
The payment method I recommend for airport runs, based on what I have seen go wrong:
- Insert-and-PIN on a regular credit card. 4% surcharge, full transaction trail, safe against skimming, automatic statement entry for expense claims.
- Or cash, if you have it. Zero surcharge, end of story.
- Never tap-and-go on a physical card. Use Apple Pay or Google Pay if you want to tap.
- Skip the "driver's mobile EFTPOS" terminal. Use the meter-unit terminal only. If the meter terminal is "broken", use cash.
- Always take the printed receipt. Cross-check the total against the meter amount before you leave the cab.
Those five habits eliminate almost every payment-related issue I have ever seen at Melbourne Airport.