The 1,8-million visitors per month at The Pavilion in Durban now have the option to pay for their parking using MasterPass, MasterCard’s digital wallet service. This is the first MasterPass parking payment feature to go live in South Africa.

Using digital payments to pay for parking removes the frustration that all shoppers experience at some point, including long queues, not having enough coins or the parking payment machine not accepting notes.

Shoppers at The Pavilion can now take their parking ticket as usual when they enter the mall’s parking area. When they’re ready to leave, they open the MasterPass application and scan the QR code printed on their parking ticket.

They then enter the parking ticket number, choose a pre-loaded payment card to complete the transaction, and enter their unique ATM or One-Time Pin (OTP). This completes the transaction, and they can proceed to the exit – without having to queue or fumble for cash at the pay station.

“Paying for parking is a pet hate for most consumers,” says Mark Elliott, division president, MasterCard, South Africa. “We aim to make their experience easier, quicker and more convenient by introducing a solution that doesn’t require cash. MasterPass is a solution that is easy to use, and one that can be easily rolled out at parkades across the country.”