APT SKIDATA’s tap+go™ Solution Makes Parking Touchless

APT Skidata’s tap+go™ Parking Solution

APT Skidata, one of the world’s leading parking equipment manufacturers, launches tap+go™ - a new touchless parking solution that will help minimise the spread of Covid-19 in car parks by eliminating the need for drivers to touch surfaces when they park.

The ticketless system makes the parking transaction process fully contactless, so customers no longer have to touch a screen, insert a ticket or key in a number at the payment station. Using tokenisation encryption of credit/debit card data at all touch points, together with Skidata’s proven Parking.Logic e-payment platform, APT Skidata client can create a seamless and convenient experience for their parking customers.

When arriving at a car park entrance, the new system will see customers wave a contactless bank card, smartphone or smart watch at the reader. No payment is taken at this point, but a ‘virtual’ ticket is issued. When the driver is ready to leave there is no need to go to a payment machine they just drive to the barrier and, using the same payment (card, smart phone, watch), tap the reader for the barrier to open.

Nigel Young, Senior Business Development Manager at APT Skidata says that it was already seeing demand for a touchless parking to enhance the customer experience but now there is a real need for it to help safeguard people: “We can expect this transition to be accelerated in response to increased concerns about hygiene during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Even as restrictions on movements are eased, there will still be a focus on social distancing and hand hygiene, and people will continue to be encouraged to avoid touching anything outside as much as possible.

APT Skidata’s tap+go™ Parking Solution“The simplest way to offer visitors touchless parking is to not only go ticketless, but to remove touchpoints. By making the whole transaction process touchless, so drivers won’t need to stand in a queue and they won’t need to touch a screen, insert a ticket or key in a number at the payment station, we are significantly helping our customers to return to normal business.

”In many cases, if a site already has APT Skidata entry and exit columns in place it is a quick and simple upgrade to the hardware to APT Skidata’s tap+go™, so it can be an immediate solution that brings benefits in the long term too. APT Skidata has already completed a retrofit at seven APT Skidata controlled shopping centres for one of the UK’s flagship shopping centre chains.

The tap+go solution adds an additional layer of security to the payment process as the card details are tokenised at entry and again at exit, fulfilling all principles and regulations of PCI and governance of deployment under P2Pe. Only when the tokens are ‘matched’, is the parking fee calculated and charged automatically.

Car park managers and operators should also be looking at how to protect their staff and themselves, says Nigel: “Traditionally we might have customers interested in our web-based platform, INS.reports, because they want to simplify reporting, or consolidate reports across multiple sites, but now we are talking to them about how they can improve remote working with INS.reports, which will in turn reduce the need to be on site or reduce the workload for onsite teams to help protect them in the long term.”

APT Skidata’s web-based platform, INS.Reports, allows for full car park management remotely, reducing the need to be on site and reducing the workload for onsite teams to help protect them in the long term. As long as you have an internet connection you can connect to the car park, or multiple car parks, and gain insight into revenue and current usage, along with customer and environmental information across the estate.