- Parkopedia now supports both in-car ‘Access and Pay’ and QR code parking payments at more than 3 million ETCP managed spaces across 60 major cities in China
- Both parking payment methods utilise licence plate recognition technology to allow for seamless parking payments at almost 5,000 ETCP powered facilities
- Access and Pay enables automatic parking payments via a single sign-on account for ultimate driver convenience
- By integrating Access and Pay and QR code parking payments into its existing, single API interface, Parkopedia continues to support automakers and drivers in navigating the highly fragmented parking payments industry in China
17 August 2022 - Shanghai, China
Leading connected vehicle services provider Parkopedia now allows drivers to find and pay for parking from behind the wheel, at more than 3 million parking spaces, across almost 5,000 locations in 60 major cities in China, thanks to a recent partnership with ETCP.
As one of the largest parking payment providers in the country, ETCP manages nearly 600 million transactions per month. The partnership with Parkopedia enables drivers to make automatic parking payments through ‘Access and Pay’, as well as convenient payments via integrated QR codes from behind the wheel.
According to a driver survey carried out by Parkopedia and Zhongyan last year, there is a strong growing demand for in-vehicle parking express payments in China, with less than 1% of those surveyed still paying for parking with cash, 40% already paying for parking via their vehicle's head unit infotainment system and almost all surveyed are willing to pay a surcharge of more than ¥5 per month for in-vehicle parking payment services.
Parkopedia’s in-vehicle Access and Pay and QR code parking payment services both utilise the licence plate recognition technology present at all ETCP facilities for seamless payment experiences, every time.
Access and Pay can be subscribed to via the automaker’s connected services, or activated by the driver via the infotainment screen, and only requires drivers to opt in to the service once, linking a payment card, AliPay or WeChat Pay account. Once a vehicle is registered with the service, an entry event is created when the vehicle enters a participating parking facility, and an exit event is created when it leaves. From these two events, an accurate transaction is calculated and the associated payment account is charged, with the driver notified.
Currently, when paying for parking via QR code, drivers are required to search parking facilities for physically displayed codes, however, this process can leave drivers frustrated and introduce safety risks with pedestrians focused on mobile devices within close proximity to moving vehicles. Parkopedia collects accurate parking payment QR codes directly from ETCP and embeds these digitally into the vehicle’s infotainment system. Drivers can then use their smartphone to scan the location QR code displayed on their infotainment screen to complete an express payment via a saved payment card, Alipay or WeChat Pay. This allows drivers to seamlessly pay for their parking safely with their smartphone without having to leave the vehicle, either before leaving or upon arriving at their destination.
Parkopedia offers car manufacturers the option of integrating these QR codes either into their existing smartphone apps or directly into the vehicle’s head unit. License plate recognition technology will log when the vehicle enters and exits the parking facility, allowing the correct parking fee to be charged seamlessly as the driver leaves the facility.
Ding Xian, General Manager for Parkopedia in China, said: “We are pleased to announce our partnership with ETCP, one of the largest parking facility operators in the country. As the global leader of in-car parking and payment solutions, we are confident in providing Chinese automakers with superior connected vehicle products and services, ensuring they can deliver positive driver user experiences both today and in the future. We continue to invest heavily in our products and services in China, with various coverage expansions and technology advancement announcements to follow.”
Li Yunwei, Business Manager of ETCP, said: “With the development purpose of ‘connecting people and vehicles’, we are pleased to establish a deeper cooperation relationship with Parkopedia, and continue to expand the smart parking scenarios and service capabilities on in-car, city and field levels, and build a multi-directional of digital connectivity via cross brand, platform and scene interconnection."
Parkopedia already helps millions of drivers each month find available parking in more than 100 cities across China, with the company’s static data product giving drivers the core information they need regarding location, price and opening hours, while its dynamic data product also calculates the probability a parking space will be available at the driver’s time of arrival. Recent independent Ground Truth Testing found Parkopedia to be the provider of the most accurate and complete parking data in the country.
Parkopedia continues to expand its partnership portfolio in China, integrating further operator payment interfaces into its unified API interface to deliver complete coverage to drivers and to provide market-leading parking payment products and services to automakers across the country.
