HONK Taps Into the Future with World’s First Virtual Parking Meter

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, June 10, 2019 – Today, at the International Parking and Mobility Institute Conference & Expo, HONK, the fastest and most convenient way to find and pay for parking, unveiled its newest product: the world’s first virtual parking meter – HonkTAP. HONK’s virtual parking meter uses NFC technology and Apple Pay to allow drivers to pay for parking with just a tap of their iPhone. Once parked, drivers simply tap their iPhone on the posted NFC signage and walk away, knowing that their parking is paid.

HONK leverages NFC tags to immediately bring up Apple Pay on iPhone. Users can skip the step of downloading an app or registering for an account – making paying for parking infinitely faster and frictionless.

Drivers simply tap their iPhone on the NFC-enabled signage – which can be as simple as a sticker or as elaborate as a custom sign – input their license plate number and select the amount of parking time desired on the guest checkout screen, and pay with Apple Pay. Drivers can opt-in to receive text notifications when their parking is set to expire, and can add time remotely from their iPhone. Purchase history, changing vehicles and many other features can be accessed by signing up for a free HONK account.

With HonkTAP, parking operators no longer require bulky and expensive payment terminals that can be exposed to vandalism, and experience periods of downtime and long lines of drivers waiting to pay. Instead, customized, NFC-enabled signs and structures can be used throughout parking locations, saving tens of thousands of dollars, giving customers even more choice and accessibility in parking payment options.

HonkTAP is now live in select cities across North America, with 10,000 HonkTAP signs and structures to be installed across 20 cities in Canada and the US by the end of summer 2019.

“HonkTAP marks an entirely new era for parking,” said Michael Back, HONK Founder & CEO. “Our patent pending technology allows drivers to bypass the parking meter, an app download or user registration, and simply purchase parking with a tap of their iPhone. Our novel approach gives drivers the fastest and easiest way to pay for parking on site. This isn’t just a win for drivers – the affordability and ease of integration into parking operations makes HonkTAP the most scalable parking solution on the market today – it costs up to 95% less than your typical parking hardware. No power costs, data charges, paper supplies and zero machine downtime make HonkTAP a game-changer.”