Offering card payments could become mandatory for black cabs in the city under a change to licensing rules.
Leeds City Council said Hackney carriages could be made to provide cashless payment facilities.
More than 70% of council-licensed vehicles already offered the service, but complaints had been received of some drivers only taking cash.
A report to the council’s Licensing Committee said fears were raised for the safety of lone females and young people who could not get a taxi after running out of money on nights out.
It said: “Recent complaints received raise significant concerns around public safety.
“The majority of drivers already have the facility to take card or electronic payments.
“However, if the journey is a local one, some drivers are stating that they don’t accept cashless payments, despite having the equipment to do so.”
The report said complaints were received from both passengers and drivers over a lack of cashless facilities in some cars.
If agreed by cllrs, offering both cash and cashless payments could become mandatory from 1 July this year,.
The report said Hackney carriage prices were often not pre-agreed and were determined by fare meters.
Some drivers were refusing to accept cashless payments for short journeys which were not deemed to be financially attractive.
But most drivers who responded to an online survey backed mandatory cashless payments, the report said.
The report said: “In total, 62% of respondents believe that offering a cashless payment facility in Hackney carriage vehicles will improve the level of service provided to the travelling public in Leeds.”
The Licensing Committee is recommended to approve the proposal at its next meeting at Leeds Civic Hall on Friday, 23 May.
The report added: “The introduction of mandatory card and cashless payments has been requested by the hackney carriage associations through their quarterly trade forums.”
