BMW ParkNow Available in Paris
As the reform regarding on-street car parking fees provided by the French MAPTAM law (on modernising public local action plans) becomes effective, BMW launches their ParkNow service in Paris. This feature will be challenging PayByPhone for dematerialising car parking payments.
After Toulouse, Béziers and Vincennes, BMW ParkNow launches in Paris. Overall award winner of the Innovation Intertraffic 2018, and winner in the Smart Mobility category, ParkNow allows drivers to pay for car parking from their mobile phone.
Upon downloading the app, the user specifies his personal information, car plate number and card information. Once his car parked, its location is determined (geolocation), and he only has to set his required parking time in-app. An alert is sent when this selection expires, so it can be extended remotely. Then the payment step is one tap away and an invoice is sent automatically.
ParkNow reports 22 million users in 11 countries: 1,000 towns, including 12 in France.
Comments – Car parking: perfect fit for mobile payment
According to m-parking related assessments released last month by Travelnet, one in three car parking payments in France are made using PayByPhone. In this sector, m-payment volumes would have increased by more than 300% year-over-year, stressing the fact that this market is growing more mature. This evolution accounts for the interest paid by BMW Group and their launch of a dedicated mobile app. These solutions cover various use cases, allowing customers to pay for car parking from anywhere, increase their parking time remotely and only pay for the actual amount of time they parked so they can actually save some money.
ParkNow targets French drivers used to relying on mobile payments. They will have to face competition from existing operators such as PayByPhone: a market pioneer with more than one million users, or Whoosh which now claims about sixty towns covered in France. BMW ParkNow highlights the group’s strategic focus on lasting urban mobility in line with largest cities' long-term modernisation objectives.