Minicabit, the minicab price comparison and booking service has announced partnerships with Heathrow Airport and Barclays Pingit mobile payments system, expanding both its customer base and versatility.

The contract with Heathrow will enable travellers at the UKs largest airport to instantly compare and book fixed minicab quotes with a network of over 650 operators across the UK.

The agreement comes following an initial trial that saw strong demand from travellers booking minicabs to and from Heathrow, with over 85 per cent of journeys outside a 15 mile radius booked using Minicabits service.

“We are delighted to be extending our successful trial with Heathrow into a partnership,” said Amer Hasan, CEO and founder of Minicabit. “The demand we have already received highlights the need for minicab services both to and from Heathrow and we have witnessed a great response from travellers across the UK, from locations as far as Newcastle, Plymouth and Lancaster.”

The partnership with Heathrow is the latest in a number of revenue enhancing deals the firm has made with brands including the O2 Arena and Academy, and country house and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace.

The deal with Pingit means that customers will be able to pay their cab fare via Barclays mobile payment system using Minicabits app, with users who take advantage of this facility offered exclusive fare discounts and tailored promotional offers.

Pingit is available to all UK current account holders at any UK bank over the age of 16, and has been downloaded over 2.5m times since its launch in 2012. Customers using Minicabit will now be presented with the Pingit payment option when using the app to book in advance.

“We are delighted to announce that we will partner with Barclays innovative mobile payments service Pingit,” said Minicabits Hasan. “Given one in four of our bookings still entail the customer paying cash to the driver, offering Pingit will further enhance our apps user experience by making it even easier to pay via your mobile rather than rummage around for cash.”

“This partnership is another example of how mobile payments are being integrated across different industries, and shows the great potential for mobile payments as services like Pingit gain more widespread use,” said Darren Foulds, director of mobile banking and Pingit at Barclays. “For quick, secure transactions on the go, mobile is fast-becoming a trusted method of making payments –  whether from person-to-person or directly to a business.”