Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539941
THE government's recent proposal to phase out cash payments in the cab sector has been presented to the public as a bold solution to some of the industry's deepest problems. The message being put forward is simple: Cash fuels undeclared income, cash sustains the exploitative 50/50 mod- el, and cash puts drivers at risk of robbery. Remove cash, the argument goes, and the industry will become safer, fairer, and more transparent. It is an appealing nar- rative. But while LPOA supports modern- isation and meaningful reform, we have strong doubts as to whether this particular proposal will achieve any of its stated aims. By focusing on cash as the villain, government risks confusing symptoms with causes and, in the pro- cess, distracting attention from the real reforms that are urgently needed. Consider the issue of safety. We have heard news reports of drivers robbed at knife point, on our roads. Yet to sug- gest that banning cash will make drivers safe is misleading. A criminal intent on harming or intimidating a driver is not deterred by whether the fare is paid in cash or by card. If we were to apply this reasoning for safety, we should abol- ish cash across the board, and no one should be allowed to use it in restaurants and everywhere else. Violence against drivers cannot be solved through a pay- ment method. Real safety comes from reforms that change the way platforms and operators function. Drivers should be told the destination of a trip before they accept it, giving them the chance to assess whether it is safe. Passengers should be required to verify their identity, just as drivers al- ready must. Emergency buttons that connect drivers directly to the police and send their location in real time should be standard. Operators should have the authority to suspend suspi- cious passenger accounts immediately. These are the measures that offer genu- ine protection. The absence of cash in a driver's wallet does not. It must also be said outright that the notion that abolishing cash payments reduces abuse or helps prevent tax evasion is false and misleading. A trip, whether cashless or not, is always re- corded on the platform irrespective of how it is paid. The transaction is logged and traceable in exactly the same way. In fact, it has already been reported in the media that the authorities have ac- cess to all rides, and therefore, once a ride is registered, whether paid in cash or by card, the government already has full means to oversee the flow of funds. To suggest that cash payments some- how enable tax evasion or money laun- dering is not only untrue, it is a deliber- ate distortion of the facts. Outlaw 50/50 model The same flawed reasoning applies to the claim that a cashless system will eliminate the 50/50 model. The 50/50 arrangement is not sustained by the presence of cash. It is sustained by the structure of contracts and the way op- erators engage drivers. Unless government acts directly to outlaw this practice, and unless it en- sures that drivers are employed with transparent contracts that guarantee a base wage and fair conditions, 50/50 will continue. The method of payment has no bearing on its existence. Recent reporting by MaltaToday has revealed the extent to which abuse op- erates outside the realm of cash alto- gether. Drivers formally employed on minimum wage are in reality receiving around four €4,000 a month through a patchwork of allowances and adjust- ments. This is not a case of drivers pock- eting undeclared cash payments. It is a case of companies structuring payslips in ways that disguise true income and raise serious questions about taxation and social security contributions. A ban on cash does nothing to address this problem. What is needed is regulatory oversight that goes beyond superficial appearances and examines how drivers are actually contracted and paid. Meanwhile, Malta is still a cash-pre- ferring economy by EU standards. The European Central Bank has warned against blanket "no-cash" approaches that risk excluding people and under- mining the legal-tender framework. Public policy should avoid creating a payments-hurdle to access a basic mo- bility service. So, let's fix what's broken. LPOA sup- ports modernisation, but it must target the mechanics of abuse, not the medi- um of payment. It seems this measure is set to be adopted in the ride-hailing sector, but what about the rest of the industry? Will scheduled rides, chauffeur services, and other forms of passenger transport also be forced to go cashless? If cash is tru- ly being banned on the basis of safety or transparency, then logic demands We are going cashless, Aron Gatt President Light Passenger Operators Association (LPOA) 10 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 OCTOBER 2025 OPINION To suggest that cash payments somehow enable tax evasion or money laundering is not only untrue, it is a deliberate distortion of the facts.