Planning and integration with Boost and Touch ‘n Go eWallet are also being implemented to provide a wider choice for users

by HARIZAH KAMEL / pic by TMR FILE

THE year 2020 will be marked as the digitalisation year for Malaysia, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Going forward, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) announced that there will be no more payments for roadside parking using machines, making way for cashless payments.

The new method of payment uses one of the following mobile or e-wallet applications, namely EZ Smart Park, Flexi Parking, Wilayah Parking and MCash which have taken effect on Oct 1.

It said planning and integration with Boost and Touch ‘n Go eWallet are also being implemented to provide a wider choice for users.

DBKL said it has added the JomParking application as an option for the roadside parking payment starting Oct 7, to make it easier for existing users of the app.

However, new applications for daily and monthly passes for parking at this time have yet to be operational as the facility will be activated once the system upgrade is implemented. Meanwhile, applications for specially allocated parking spaces are still operating as usual.

As the public is encouraged to continue adapting to cashless payments for roadside parking, here are the five mediums consist of apps and e-wallets as listed by DBKL:

EZ Smart Park

EZ Smart Park was developed by Laureate System Solutions Sdn Bhd and was uploaded on the app store on Sept 29 this year, available for Android, Huawei and iOS users.

Among the range of features available include simple and convenient on-street parking payment in just a few steps which allows users to keep track of their parking with alerts and notifications.

The app also enables users to extend parking time remotely, manage multiple vehicles and reload through in-application secure banking or credit card easily.

Flexi Parking

Developed by Leading Innovative Technologies and Systems Sdn Bhd (LiTS), the idea of the app came from innovations of coupons and parking payment kiosk to enable a new payment option to ease users.

According to its website, Flexi Parking helps reduce the time and efficiency of users to pay parking and compounds. It also helps increase the compliance rate of the municipal councils’ collections.

The app is extremely user-friendly, offering step-to-step guides for users to be acquainted with the services.

Currently, its services are on-street parking, parking and compound payment and off-street parking, with two more services namely Flexi Parking Agent and Flexi Protect in the pipeline.

Users can pay parking or compound for family or friends by registering their vehicle number in the app account or transfer prepaid credit to their app account. However, users cannot pay DBKL compounds using the app.

All of the receipts are in digital formats for easy keeping, and the app uses prepaid credit that can be purchased via online banking, credit card and more.

Wilayah Parking

Just like Flexi Parking, Wilayah Parking was also developed by LiTS to which users can expect similar features.

At a glance, the app offers features such as three languages support (Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin), a two-step payment, alerts when parking time almost expires and direct credit reload.

It also supports multiple councils including DBKL, Sepang Municipal Council, Shah Alam City Council, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, Selayang Municipal Council, Kajang Municipal Council, and Petaling Jaya City Council.

Users can pay for multiple vehicles at multiple councils at the same time, as well as paying compounds directly through the app for municipal councils in Selangor.

MCash

Mobile e-wallet MCash is powered by MRuncit Commerce Sdn Bhd, a Bank Negara Malaysia-licensed electronic money issuer.

It was launched in 2016 as one of the pioneer e-wallet players in Malaysia and is now a digital wallet service provider with more than 500,000 community members, utilising its micro-payment services at more than 10,000 merchant networks, bill payment, airtime reload and e-parking.

Users who are already familiar with other e-wallets namely Touch ‘n Go and Boost will not have a hard time navigating the app to find its e-parking feature that offers parking payments and extending the time via mobile phone.

JomParking

Smart parking app solution JomParking has been a popular choice among users, causing quite a stir when it was not initially included in DBKL’s list.

In a joint statement by several MPs on Oct 1, it was estimated that there are approximately 46,100 roadside parking lots in 2016, and in December last year, there were approximately 330,000 JomParking app users.

Its main features are cashless as the app uses a secure digital payment system that reduces cash usage; easy payment; and a time reminder which will tell users 15 minutes before parking time expires, allowing users to increase the duration of parking without having to go to the vehicle.