Integrated facilities management company Servest has partnered with global mobile payments platform Zapper to launch a virtual pay station for parking in South Africa.
The system is cashless and provides a fully automated alternative for the processing of parking ticket payments. It presents an alternative pay point and addresses the day-to-day pain points around convenience and time management as it eliminates unnecessary queuing time to pay for parking tickets.
Using Zapper, a secure mobile payment technology, the system prints a unique Zapper QR code on the parking ticket, which is scanned by a customer using the Zapper app to make a payment before exiting the facility.
The solution also unlocks consumer insights, enabling loyalty and engagement opportunities for the landlord.
“The parking and transportation industries have evolved at pace over the last few years, and so have consumer demands,” says Richard Mynhardt, MD: parking solutions at Servest. “In our research, we found that consumers no longer accept conventional entry and payment methods to parking. They want convenient, agile and easy to use integrated solutions that are aligned to their lifestyle needs.”
According to Servest, the new payment system will be rolled out across Servest-operated facilities within South Africa, with the initial focus on Designa operated parking systems.
“Considering some of the research and trends that have emerged through innovative parking solutions for cities around the world, we realised that our parking systems no longer speak to customer needs,” Mynhardt says. “This partnership aims to deliver much needed innovative solutions for the South African market to enhance every customer’s user experience.”
The first parking metre was introduced in the 1920s and it was created for the sole purpose of collecting money for parking spot usage. By 2020, they have been transformed to smart devices facilitating cashless transactions via chips, apps and SMS payment methods.
Mynhardt explains: “Giving customers choice coupled with making payments seamless are both elements we endeavour to deliver through our collaboration with Zapper and Designa. It also offers us an opportunity to continue to build on the work we’ve already started through constant innovation and upgrades.
“Our aim is to eliminate the parking system bottlenecks, and to provide customers with innovations and solutions that enhance the customer’s experience with any facility, be it for business, leisure or pleasure.”