When the taxi company says they'll send a car with credit card facilities...

Perhaps it isn't a parameter on their despatch/booking software that it can specify a taxi with a card facility. Did you contact them since to ask what happened?

I use a taxi maybe 3-4 times a year. I set up one of the taxi hailing apps because I rarely have cash on me, although you have the choice to pay by cash to the driver as well.

Maybe the OP would find this useful?

Many of the despatch firms take card payment over the phone, both for one off bookings or to settle payment on some accounts. They should could have offered the former option here, that way everyone is happy as the driver still gets paid albeit a week later.

You have a debt so have to pay, a card isn't legal tender so can be refused for payments of a debt.

So why isn't card facilitation simply a condition of licence?

The taxi driver did their job and got you to the destination so you have a debt and as card is not legal tender offering to pay with it is not paying your debt. Have the law changed to make cards legal tender or require PSVs to accept cards, but until then there's no requirement for a taxi to accept a card regardless of what you requested from the company.

BTW booking a taxi over the phone is useless. How many people complain that they ordered an accessible taxi or 8 seater only for a saloon to turn up or book a taxi for the next morning for no taxi to turn up. What happens is the dispatcher looks for the nearest taxi at the time and sends it to you the taxi driver has no idea what special requests you made to the dispatcher. Like courier companies what the taxi company says to the customer is now what they have the drivers do, but the drivers get the abuse so the dispatchers don't care(they still paid).

Why should it be?

Do the bank let you lodge cash free of charge now? If they don’t, what percentage do they charge?

What happens if you’re robbed and all your cash is taken. It’s hard to steal credit card receipts.

One of the many reasons I avoid taxis unless desperate or there’s no other option. Last time I got one was from the port into the city centre to catch a bus and had to be there to meet the bus on time. Needless to say it was cash only…