DOCOMO Digital has partnered with Spain’s most popular mobile ticket app to allow customers on the country’s three biggest carriers to buy parking tickets using direct carrier billing. This is said to be a first for Europe.
The service is available for all smartphone devices running either iOS and Android devices. Users just download the e-Park app from the App Store to configure their account. All three of the largest Spanish operators — Movistar, Vodafone and Orange — are connected to this new DOCOMO Digital service.
Mobile operator billing allows customers to charge the cost of digital and physical goods and services directly to their mobile device bill. Mobile Operator Billing also has many security benefits given confidential payment card details are not shared between the consumer, operator and merchant.
Fernando González-Mesones, COO of DOCOMO Digital, commented: “DOCOMO Digital is becoming the leading digital payment partner for large merchants, such as Google Play in 32 countries, Vice in Japan, and now we are proud to be the payment partner for e-park in Spain. The Mobile Operator Billing services we are launching for a number of services, specifically transport, are making Spain one of the leading countries in terms of smart-city innovation.
“Our mission is to provide value both for companies and users to ensure more and more people, no matter what payment methods they use, are able to access the many advantages e-commerce and m-commerce brings.”
Consumers are increasingly using smartphones as their primary mechanism for access and payment of goods and services. The size of the opportunity for Mobile Operator Billing alone, as Ovum predicts is USD 180 billion in revenue which mobile network operators can unlock by working together.
2016 was a banner year for growing mobile commerce, with 35% of all online purchases coming from a mobile device in Q2, marking 17% year-over-year (YoY) growth. We are expecting the growth of mobile commerce to increase rapidly as more and more retailer provide consumers with safe, simple and secure forms of alternative payments which removes friction from purchase experience.
Jaime López de Aguilar, executive president of e-park, said: “In the coming years we will see great changes in the mobility field. With over 30 years of experience in the parking sector, we pride ourselves on developing innovative solutions for consumers. The possibility to pay by mobile is a key feature of our business and once again we are pioneering by introducing direct carrier billing to pay for parking.”
e-Park has become Spain’s leading mobile service for parking, starting from July, 2013. Over half a million customers have downloaded the free app for free on their smartphones. Annually e-Park manages 12.5 million tickets and over 5 million bank transactions across 13 Spanish cities where the app is available. e-Park also offers services to help customers to avoid fees and enjoy better control of their parking needs.
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