Smart Money powers the first cashless and automated street parking system in the Philippines
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| A man pays his parking fee via text. |
Users of Smart Money, the world’s first electronic wallet service, can now conveniently pay parking fees through SMS when they park their vehicle along the Roxas Boulevard service road in Manila, site of the first cashless and automated street parking system in the Philippines. More details after the jump.
The e-Park initiative is a project of Manila’s Traffic and Parking Bureau, parking operator Wi-Tech Solutions & Development Corp., and Smart Money. It will be implemented in more areas in the coming months.
After parking in any of the 90 slots between Pedro Gil Street and the Magsaysay Center on Roxas Boulevard, Smart Money users need only text a code to have the parking fee automatically deducted from their Smart Money account.
“No more rummaging in your bag for a wallet and for spare change. Also, there will be no more panic over missing parking receipts because the system will send you an SMS containing the details of your transaction right after you text the code,” said Tricia Dizon, head of Smart’s financial services.
Smart Money account holders should text Park
The parking rate is P10 per hour, while the SMS is free of charge. Vehicle owners can occupy a slot for a minimum of two hours.
Thirty minutes before they reach the time limit, Smart Money users will receive an SMS reminding them to send additional load using the same code to extend their use of the parking space.
“Unlike in other countries where you have to physically put money into a parking meter to extend your stay, here you can just send a text message. When you are in the middle of a meeting or a lunch date, you can stop worrying that your vehicle would overstay and get towed,” Dizon said.
Wi-Tech General Manager Rene Tongco said the e-Park project is more space-efficient than parking systems in other countries because it does away with bulky parking meters that have to be installed on sidewalks.
“Instead of mounting parking meters, we placed sensors on the parking slots to determine the exact duration of each vehicle’s stay. We have also equipped parking attendants with tablet computers so they can view the details of each parking slot, like how long it has been occupied, and if the vehicle owner has already paid the parking fee,” he said.
“This high-tech system runs on Smart’s powerful network. Wi-Tech chose Smart as our network and payment platform because we are confident that Smart’s system is stable, reliable, and mature,” Tongco said.
Vehicle owners who have no Smart Money account yet can pay in cash to e-loaders in the area who, for a minimal fee of P3 to P5, will then use their Smart Money account to remit the payment to the parking operator.
“We have allowed e-loaders to charge a small fee for the use of their Smart Money account to support the livelihood program of the city of Manila,” Tongco said.
Those who wish to get a Smart Money account may visit http://smart.com.ph/apply/money/apply.aspx
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