MasterCard, Parkeon Target Bumper Business from Motorists Scheme
MasterCard has formed a global partnership with parking services provider, Parkeon, to enable shoppers to benefit from local merchant offers and loyalty services through their global network of smart parking terminals.
This couponing platform, developed by MasterCard, will enable the delivery of offers from locally relevant retailers directly to shoppers as they pay for their parking spaces. “This new process transforms the retail experience and is designed to deliver relevant rewards to shoppers at the right moment and in the right place,” MasterCard commented. For local businesses, the new digital shopping channel will allow them to showcase relevant and appropriate merchant offers in a highly targeted way.
According to MasterCard the system is the first of its kind and, unlike other loyalty programmes, it will not require complex sign up processes or smartphone app installation.
A pilot scheme of the programme will launch in the US on 7 October at Rockville Center, New York when MasterCard’s couponing platform will be integrated into existing Parkeon terminals for the first time. A full-scale deployment is expected to begin at the start of 2014 across Europe and the US.
“The way we shop is changing and today’s shopper wants to feel that they are getting the best and most personalized experience possible,” said Hany Fam, president, global strategic alliances at MasterCard said.
“By combining MasterCard’s global network, data and technology assets together with Parkeon’s global distribution infrastructure, we can start the retail experience from the moment we get out of our cars.”
Stéphane Roques, head of parking business at Parkeon, added: “Parking meters are evolving from a cash-intensive, low-value transaction industry, to one that is able to deliver huge commercial benefit to businesses and reward consumers.”