In our recent podcast series on hidden fees, TPN explored a growing concern across the parking industry: the increasing disconnect between what customers pay and what owners actually see. What became clear through those conversations is that hidden fees are not isolated issues but indicators of a broader shift. As payment systems evolve and financial technology (Fintech) becomes more embedded in daily operations, the industry is being quietly reshaped. This raises an important question, and one that I address here: as these changes accelerate, are we still fundamentally a service business, or are we becoming something else entirely? 

 

Fintech has moved into our industry. It is forcing us to reevaluate who we are.  Are we a Fintech company focused on managing technology, or are we still a service business that uses available resources to provide the highest level of service?  

 

At TPN, we regularly review parking operations to evaluate their financial performance.  A part of the evaluation involves examining the financial methods used by the parking operation to track entry, exit, length of stay, the amount charged, and, finally, how those charges are applied.  

 

As we move through the process of financial accountability and customer payment interactions, we see some very difficult demands placed on the typical parking operation.  Over the last 20 years, we have moved from an all-cash business to a credit card inserted by the customer, then to a credit card on file, and now to all sorts of credit card-on-file processes.  We can register online, place our credit card on file with the E-commerce provider, not the parking company.  The e-commerce provider can be any of several providers authorized to offer parking at the facility. Additionally, the e-commerce provider may also be the parking company that manages the facility or even the parking access equipment provider.  Over the last 10+ years, on-street parking has been moving to a credit card on file and/or an e-commerce provider.   

 

The result is a change in who we are becoming.  Are we still in the parking business, or are we moving in a different direction?  We believe the clients and municipalities still believe we are in the business of providing a parking space for a time and being paid an appropriate amount for that service.  However, we are seeing entities looking at the parking business for a totally different reason.  

 

We will take one more paragraph to discuss who we are and then into what we believe we are being transformed into.  

 

We don’t seem to have a good handle on the number of annual transactions in the parking industry, but we're somewhere between 3 and 5 billion.  

 

Let’s take a second to look at who we are, and then we should be able to see a transition in progress.  A transition that will greatly impact who we are. 

 

For on-street and off-street parking, we provide a parking space for a period of time and expect the customer to pay for it.  The paying customers are there to go to work, visit a business, meet someone for lunch, attend an event, or a host of other reasons.  It is our job to provide a safe, clean, well-lit, appropriately priced space and provide a payment system that is not complicated.  In the end, our highest priority is outstanding customer service.  Accomplishing those tasks is how we, as parking companies or we as parking administrators for the Institutional locations, receive our compensation. 

 

We are now entering a new phase of parking management that appears to be significantly affecting how we see the customer.  Investment companies are buying parking companies, not because they are full of locations generating revenue, but they feel that with their investment, they can improve the service by reducing expenses and performing at a higher level.  The new investors appear to be more interested in the back end of the business than the front end.  By this, we mean they are interested in their share of the 3 to 5 billion transactions generated by the parking industry.  There is a small window of opportunity to purchase companies, parking operations companies, or equipment suppliers that touch each of those transactions, and instead of performing at a higher level of customer service, they simply tack a fee onto the back of each transaction, fail to report this additional line of revenue, and dramatically improve their income.  

 

We do not believe this type of backdoor revenue represents who we are as an industry.  In some cases, all transactions are affected by this view of the industry, but e-commerce transactions seem especially susceptible.  We are also starting to notice investors investing in technology suppliers to gain access to this very large number of transactions.  When you look at our business in this light, the customer is no longer someone we serve with a clean, safe, well-lit, appropriately priced product; our customer is simply a transaction.  

 

We are all part of an industry that is constantly moving forward, and it is important that we always remember our purpose.  We provide a parking space for time, charge an appropriate rate, and maintain a high level of service.  Fintech is a part of what moves us forward, but it is not who we are. 

 

As Fintech continues to expand its influence, the risk is not just lost transparency, but a redefinition of the customer from a person we serve to a transaction we process. The path forward is not to resist innovation, but to anchor it in accountability, clarity, and purpose. If we are to move forward well, the industry must deliberately and loudly decide that technology will support great service, not replace it, and that every dollar collected will remain visible, accountable, and aligned with the owners and communities we serve.