In the Face of Covid-19, PayByPhone Grows Its Roster of Colleges for Its Mobile Payment App

To the extent students are returning to college campuses, payments companies are pursuing opportunities in contactless payments—even when it comes to paying for parking. PayByPhone Technologies Inc. on Thursday said that with recent additions its mobile parking app is now available at 29 North American colleges and universities. 

The app allows users to enter a locator code for the space, a planned duration, and a payment. Users can extend parking times later from the app as well. “We are collaborating with schools across North America to reduce parking infrastructure costs and create a seamless and safe experience for students, faculty, and campus visitors,” said Roamy Valera, the company’s chief executive, in a statement.

The newly added campuses are controlled by the University of Nevada, Reno, Bowling Green State University, Trinity Western University and the University of Washington’s Tacoma and Bothell locations, according to PayByPhone’s announcement.

Vancouver, British Columbia-based PayByPhone is one of several developers of apps that drivers can use to find and pay for parking. With the Covid-19 pandemic, usage of the apps is expected to grow as consumers look for ways to pay for various everyday needs without touching devices not under their control. Rivals to PayByPhone include developers ParkHub Inc., SpotHero Inc., and ParkMobile LLC. 

ParkHub and SpotHero this spring jointly announced a collaboration to encourage contactless parking payments. The integration of the two apps, which began last year, allows venues to sell parking spots in advance of events, authenticate parking passes onsite, and manage parking demand.

Formerly a unit of U.K.-based payments processor PayPoint plc, PayByPhone was acquired by automaker Volkswagen AG in December 2016. The company processes more than 125 million transactions annually worth more than $550 million. Its app works on the Web, on phones, and on smart watches.