U.S. POS-maker VeriFone Systems Inc. is growing its international taxi services business to enable mobile payments. The company announced a contract to provide managed payment services to Glob Taxi Company of Warsaw, Poland, and its fleet of approximately 500 vehicles.

According to the company's announcement, VeriFone will provide Glob Taxi with in-taxi payment systems that allow passengers to use not only credit and debit cards but also contactless and NFC mobile wallets to pay for their rides.

The new contract means that VeriFone now provides taxi systems and services for 70,000 vehicles in 17 countries, including Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, the company said.

"VeriFone is first to provide a complete managed solution for taxi companies in Poland," said Jeff Dumbrell, VeriFone EVP for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. "Glob Taxi can now provide its drivers and passengers with the security and convenience of electronic payments, transforming the taxi experience and providing greater efficiency and profitability."

The Glob Taxi solution provided by VeriFone includes a payment acceptance system, which is NFC-enabled for contactless card and mobile device payments, as well as a color touch screen. It also provides fleet operators and drivers continuous access to taxi data and efficient electronic transaction management and monitoring, VeriFone said.

The taxi space is becoming a hotbed for mobile payment competition. Mobile POS company Square recently worked with New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission to pilot a new solution for that city's taxis, looking to displace VeriFone as a provider for in-taxi systems.

And that's just inside the taxi. Several companies, most notably San Francisco-based Uber, are looking to provide taxi riders a mobile app to pay for taxi rides directly on their mobile devices. 

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