By Karen Garrett, Senior Product Manager, Payments 

At Passport, when we say we are the leader in curbside payment solutions, it reflects our deep expertise in helping cities efficiently manage and monetize their curb space. We provide an integrated platform that combines paid parking, enforcement operations, and payment infrastructure to offer a streamlined approach to curb management. In today’s urban environment, our unified platform allows cities to maximize operational efficiency, financial reconciliation, and compliance.

Why Payments Matter

Curbside payments are a critical component of any effective parking system, enabling cities to manage their operations and revenue efficiently. Without a robust, scalable payment processing system, cities risk operational inefficiencies and missed financial opportunities.

Passport Payments is designed to handle millions of transactions smoothly, whether through mobile apps, parking meters, or permit systems. By centralizing payments within our platform, cities can monitor revenue in real-time, adjust rates dynamically, and streamline reconciliation processes. With one provider acting as the Point-Of-Sale (POS), gateway, and merchant processor, Passport reduces third-party handoffs, ensuring speed, accuracy, and transparency in the reconciliation process.

Streamlined Reconciliation and Simplified Reporting

Managing multiple vendors for payment processing can lead to conflicting reports and inefficiencies. With Passport Payments, cities benefit from simplified, integrated financial reporting. Our system provides end-to-end visibility on every transaction, from payments to refunds and disputes, and summarizes all associated fees in a clear, easy-to-read format. This eliminates cumbersome manual processes and ensures that cities always know what to expect in terms of net revenue.

Our platform also connects curbside mobility data with transaction data in one back-end system, significantly reducing the time spent reconciling different data feeds and systems as single-source visibility into payments helps cities lower operational costs and makes it easier to manage funds. For instance, Card Present data flows into the system, allowing cities to see all parking activity, including off-street or lot transactions, in a centralized backend. This comprehensive view enables more efficient decision-making and offers a streamlined approach to managing both on-street and off-street parking revenue.

Scalable and Secure Infrastructure

Our platform has processed over $3.5 billion in payments and handles millions of transactions annually, demonstrating its scalability and reliability. Built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Passport offers the security and flexibility to handle surges in demand and accommodate future growth with ease. 

As a full-service merchant services provider, Passport is PCI Level 1 certified, ensuring secure and compliant payment processing that keeps sensitive card data outside of our environment while maintaining exceptional service standards. Our partnership with Cybersource, our gateway of choice, further enhances this commitment to security and performance. Cybersource boasts a remarkable 99.999% uptime and can handle twice the transaction capacity of other gateway providers, having processed over 9.6 billion transactions in 2023 alone. Together, Passport and Cybersource deliver unparalleled reliability and scalability for all your payment processing needs.

Lower Processing Costs

Cities can reduce operational costs by eliminating the need for third-party gateways and processors. Our negotiated credit and debit card rates, daily settlements, and automated reconciliation processes help cities access funds faster while minimizing fees. By offering an integrated solution, we simplify the management of curbside payments and provide cities with the tools they need to optimize their operations.

Scaling Payments for Long-Term Success

In response to the fast-changing curb management and payments industries, Passport Payments has reinforced its commitment to providing timely, precise information for our customers. We’ve upgraded our architecture and infrastructure to support backend management features like Transaction Audit lookups and Settlement management tools. This improved transparency offers our customers access to detailed, transaction-level financial data, empowering them to make more informed decisions.

As we look ahead to 2025, Passport remains dedicated to delivering the tools cities need to navigate an evolving landscape with confidence and insight.