As part of a move to revamp its outdated parking ticket payments system, the city of New York is taking a look at alternate forms of payment, including mobile transactions powered by services such as PayPal and Apple Pay
According to a report from MarketWatch, the city’s finance department is looking to upgrade its parking ticket platform, which currently handles some $30 billion annually from about 10 million issued tickets.
The bureau is looking at such payment solutions as Apple Pay, PayPal, and even Bitcoin.
While the new payments system has yet to be finalized, possible features include a mobile solution that allows drivers to scan in a barcode on their ticket, or even allow them to take a photo of the ticket, and pay via a digital payments service such as Apple Pay. By making it easier to pay fines, the city hopes to cut down on the $600 million in additional fines and fee resulting from delinquent or defaulted ticket payments.
The current NYC parking ticket payment system does include an online payment option, but the system is not mobile device friendly. Online payment also means using a debit or credit card, which adds a 2.5% processing fee. Drivers can also send the payment in via traditional mail, or pay it in person.
The city is currently in the early stages of the mobile payments revamp, having recently issued a Request for Information filing due January 15, that seeks information about a potential mobile payments system.
Apple Pay has proven popular in the U.S. following its October debut, quickly grabbing 1% of all digital payment dollars in the month of November. While Apple Pay is currently only available in the United States, the company has plans to expand to other countries in 2015.
