Parking's future is in the cards

Contactless payments

Contactless bank cards are an ideal payment method for parking. With a processing time of less than one second, they are a quick and easy way of paying for such relatively low value transactions. The motorist doesn't have to worry about having any change and is able to pay exactly the right amount for the parking period required.

Parkeon is leading the way with introduction of contactless payments in parking, having already upgraded 500 of its Strada parking payment terminals to handle the technology for 13 UK operators.

Currently, it is the only manufacturer in the parking industry to have an integrated contactless/Chip & PIN card reader solution approved by the UK banking industry. This provides a seamless path between the two types of card readers when a cardholder is required to confirm a contactless transaction with a PIN. This is a security measure periodically demanded when contactless cards are used in unattended payment terminals, such as P&D machines.

Operators benefit, too

Accepting card payments has advantages for parking managers, too, as they remove cash from the overall operation. This not only limits the opportunities for fraud and theft but also reduces the volume of coins that operators have to collect, transport, sort, count and bank all time-consuming and costly procedures. Whilst there are costs associated with processing card transactions, they are considerably less than those incurred for handling cash.

"We believe there is a great future for contactless cards in the parking industry, which is why we are encouraging customers to specify the option either as original equipment or as an upgrade on existing terminals", explains Danny Hassett, Parkeon's Parking Director UK/Ireland. "We are delighted to be leading the roll-out of contactless technology in the parking industry."

New bank card payment processing service

In a second parking industry initiative, Barclaycard and Parkeon launched a new credit and debit card processing services at Parkex, the UK industry's annual exhibition, which was held at the NEC, Birmingham in March. The fully integrated payment acceptance system also comes with contactless capability.

"With this payment service, we are able to offer a more cost-effective and secure solution for processing card transactions. It will be a faster and safer way for drivers to pay, and they will have the option to pay using contactless, Chip & PIN, coins, as well as Parkeon's various on-line e-payment schemes", adds Danny Hassett.

In partnership with Barclaycard, Parkeon holds a winning hand in card-based solutions for the parking industry.