Cashless Parking Meters

When you think of contactless or cashless payment opportunities, what comes to mind first? For some it might be the keychain tag used to buy gas or the transponder that allows you to zip through toll booths without fumbling for change. Others may think of cafés and fast food restaurants, retail stores, and banks. These are the more traditional locations where we expect to find cashless terminals or similar contactless payment options, but as contactless and cashless opportunities increase in popularity, many other uses for cashless payment appear.

Traditional parking meters have gotten an upgrade with computerized models and cashless payment options.

Parking meters are a prime example of a location that benefits from offering cashless payment options. Customers are frequently in a hurry when using parking meters, and traditional meters were especially inconvenient as they only accepted coins. Parking meters that can accept credit and debit cards have been around for a while now, but a service called PayByPhone takes the convenience one step further.

PayByPhone allows users to feed parking meters in certain locations using their phones – payment can be processed using an app, or by calling a toll-free number. This service provides many advantages to customers. The obvious benefit is that it eliminates the need to dig under the seat for coins to feed the meter, but the service adds convenience in other ways too. PayByPhone can remind you with a text message when your time is about to expire so you won’t lose track of time, and because the payment is handled right from your phone, you don’t even have to walk back to the parking meter if you need to extend your time.

PayByPhone is currently available in 45 cities across the US and Canada, as well as 13 universities and a number of European locations.

Businesses should think outside of the box when it comes to cashless payment solutions, too. Are there any perfect opportunities for cashless payment in your organization? Take your cues from the parking meter when evaluating potential opportunities and you may find a use that you wouldn’t have expected. Locations where patrons are frequently in a hurry have a lot of potential, as do locations that only accept cash, such as vending machines. Offering cashless payment options can cut costs and boost revenues while increasing customer satisfaction, so don’t miss out by not taking advantage of a good opportunity!