NEW REPORT: How mPOS Can Help Steer Clear Of Beach Parking Burn

With a little mPOS magic, can finding a parking spot or running a restaurant be turned into just another day at the beach?

From beating beachside blues to revamping how restaurants track and process payments, there’s seemingly little mobile technology can’t make at least a bit simpler. The July PYMNTS mPOS Tracker features news and headlines about companies looking to use technology to make everything from mobile payments to parking easier for both consumers and merchants.

Around the mPOS World

Mobile payment solutions are already in use by half of North American retailers, and the other half aren’t likely to be without them for much longer. Research indicates more than three-quarters of retailers that have not yet installed mobile systems for employees will do so within three years, and nearly four out of five retailers yet to install mPOS systems plan do so by 2020. With so many retailers preparing to make investments in mPOS, it should come as no surprise that technology providers have their eyes on the mPOS prize.

Take, for example, restaurant iPad-based mPOS provider TouchBistro, which recently announced $12.35 million raised as part of a Series C fundraising round led by Napier Park Financial Partners and Recruit Holdings. The money will help fund an expansion of the mPOS system’s feature set, in an effort to help draw in new restaurant customers.

Meanwhile, Lightspeed is putting its faith in mobile analytics. The cloud-based POS platform technology provider out of Montreal announced a new product last month called Lightspeed Analytics, which will give independent merchants insights and recommendations for sales, inventory, employee performance and customer behavior.

To read the rest of the biggest and best mPOS headlines from this month, check out the Tracker’s News and Trends section.

Can mPOS Cure the Summertime Parking Blues?

If there’s a bigger drain on beachside summer fun than jellyfish or sudden storms, it could be parking — especially metered parking. Who’s got time for quarters at the beach (except for maybe that guy with the metal detector, wearing those grounds crew-looking headphones)?

But mPOS could save the metered beach day with a mobile parking solution. Honk, a parking payment app inspired by metered beach parking aggravation, is trying to achieve parking paradise with a mobile-powered payment option for both privately owned and municipal parking lots. The company’s mobile app for iOS and Android devices enables users to search and pay for parking across North America. It also sends customers notifications before their parking reservations expire to keep them from being ticketed or towed.

In a recent interview, Mia Brown, director of Operations for the Toronto-based car services app, told PYMNTS that while the notification feature has become popular with all users, it was initially designed with beachgoers and boaters in mind as a mobile parking solution to their summer blues.

“You never know how long you’re going to stay when you’re on the beach or out on a boat, and ticketing can really ruin a good day,” Brown said. “No one wants to run back to a machine and search for change while they’re enjoying a day on the water, and in some cases, it may not even be possible, so we knew we needed to give people an ability to know their meter was going to expire and fuel it up again.”

To read the story and check out all of the latest mPOS news and trends, along with a ranked provider directory featuring 279 major players in the space — including four new entries this month — check out the July PYMNTS mPOS Tracker.

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About the Tracker

The PYMNTS mPOS Tracker is your go-to resource for staying up to date on a month-by-month basis. The Tracker highlights the contribution of different stakeholders, including institutions and technology coming together to make this happen.