How to choose the right payment partner for growth in parking

Establishing your parking business and starting to collect payments in a new country—with all that entails in terms of local regulations and standards—is, to say the least, overwhelming. You can read more about these challenges in the article "Parking companies on the verge of expanding abroad".

New market, new partner?

To ensure everything goes smoothly, it's wise to get help from a partner who already understands the new market. This way, you avoid dedicating too many of your internal resources to research and adaptations, and can instead continue to focus on your core business.

Just make sure to think long-term; not solely based on your current needs. For example, what do your expansion plans look like in a year and even longer term? Choosing a new local partner for each new country means a growing number of vendor agreements and relationships that ultimately cost more to administer than they're worth. Furthermore, differences in the functionality and working methods of the various actors risk reducing the uniformity of both your internal processes and the overall experience for your customers.

This is why it pays to grow with a payment partner

To be able to grow effectively, in a way that is also scalable over time, it is better to consolidate your payment processes with one single partner. The advantages are several: faster implementation for each new market, more efficient and uniform internal working methods, and a more cohesive user experience—regardless of which country the customer encounters your brand.

However, it is important to choose your payment partner carefully to ensure they have both the knowledge and capacity to support your growth journey. Below are concrete tips to help you set the right requirements.

8 questions to ask when choosing a payment partner for your international parking expansion

• Does the partner have the capacity, working methods, and technical solutions that enable efficient rollout and delivery of their invoicing and payment solution in the market you want to enter?

• Do they have good references from other companies they have supported on a similar journey?

• Is their solution scalable and flexible so that it can be quickly connected in each new country and adapted to changing regulations and customer behaviors?

• Which aspects of the payment process can they automate to reduce your administration?

• What internal resources do they have for agile tech development based on your needs?

• How can their solution interact with your existing business and BI systems?

• Can they offer added value in the form of data that helps you optimize offers and communication to your customers?

• What support do you receive during implementation to ensure a quick and smooth process?

If you get satisfactory answers to these questions, the chances are good that you have found a partner who can support you long-term on your continued growth journey—regardless of the pace at which you want to grow.

Want to know more in detail about how an expansion with a flexible and scalable payment solution can work? Don't miss the article Growth journey in parking: 8 advantages of a smart payment platform.