SAN FRANCISCO — Riders in New York City taxicabs will now be able to pay for their rides with a wave of their cards over a contactless reader, thanks to a cooperative effort by Visa USA and Creative Mobile Technologies, a firm which specializes in taxicab innovation.

“There is no city that hustles like New York and Visa is helping to add a bit of speed and convenience to the preferred mode of transportation for thousands of visitors and locals,” said Brian Triplett, senior vice president with Visa USA. “We're excited to offer New York taxi passengers not only an alternative to cash, but a technology that will get them to where they're going faster and more efficiently.”

New York taxis equipped with the new readers are able to accept both Visa payWave transactions as well as traditional “swipe” transactions. Passengers are able to include a tip to the price of the fare, and no signature is required for transactions under $25. Visa research shows more and more consumers want to use a payment card for purchases under $25 for convenience (73%), efficiency (44%) and speed (39%), the card brand said.