Is it better to pay taxis in Spain with cash, or do drivers accept cards or payment apps?
I was in Valencia last month and almost every taxi I used had a functioning POS terminal. I paid with my Wise card most of the time and it worked via contactless. One late-night ride near Ruzafa the driver asked if I could pay cash but I said I didn’t have any and he reluctantly accepted my card. Some drivers prefer cash probably to avoid fees but I never had an outright refusal. Apps like Free Now work great and let you link your card directly so you don’t have to talk about payment at all. For peace of mind I always kept about 15 euros on me just in case.
In Seville I used taxis maybe three or four times and they all accepted cards but only after I asked first. Most had Ingenico terminals and they took my ICICI Bank Visa without problems. Still, some of the drivers seemed annoyed when I didn’t have cash so I tried to keep small bills on me. I also used the Cabify app for one ride and it was the best experience because I could pay directly from my phone with no awkward conversations. Around the cathedral and Santa Cruz area taxis were a bit less consistent with card acceptance than near the train station.
In Barcelona I took at least six taxis during my trip and five of them accepted contactless payment using my N26 Mastercard debit. The one that didn’t said the card reader was “broken” but I think he just wanted cash so I paid 10 euros and moved on. You’ll be fine using Visa or Mastercard especially in central areas like Eixample or from the airport to Plaça Catalunya. I used Cabify too which links directly to your card and that was smoother than hailing a taxi on the street. I wouldn’t bother with Amex here though since most small cabs didn’t take it even when they had working terminals.
In Madrid I mostly used official white taxis and almost all of them had card terminals that worked without issue. I used my Scotiabank Visa and it tapped just fine even late at night near Gran Vía. The drivers were professional and always printed receipts. That said I still carried about 20 euros in cash because twice the card machine was supposedly offline and I didn’t want to argue. If you're arriving at Madrid-Barajas airport the taxis there definitely accept Visa and Mastercard but I wouldn’t count on Amex. I also noticed many taxis now have QR codes for payment through apps like Free Now which connects directly to your card.