Categories: Lifestyle

Growth of parking payment applications business in Malaysia

As your user base continues to grow, you can safely take this as a sign that what you are offering is much needed.

Since its launch in 2015, JomParking has recorded more than 500,000 user downloads, a steadily increasing number of 1,790 users in the first year.

Nasir, CEO and Founder of JomParking, reflecting on this growth, told the Vulcan Post: “There is a significant shift in digital users. We are seeing a rapid and significant increase in the number of users every year. “

Today, people are also more likely to turn to technology to solve problems, including the cost of parking.

“Additionally, with the current COVID-19 pandemic, our numbers are increasing as people are more inclined to opt for contactless payment options to make their parking experience stress-free,” he said.

Firmly anchored in the hearts of its users

Even in the early years, it seemed like JomParking had thought of everything. They provided users with as much information as possible: zone, zone name, parking fees, and hours of operation.

What if your mom couldn’t find a parking meter, doesn’t have a phone, or isn’t smart enough to use the app? They already had a feature to add another vehicle that you can use to pay for them anytime, anywhere.

They have now added the ability to warn users when asked to park, although this has only been introduced in Tanah Merah District Council, Kelantan at this time. It is also in the process of implementing it in other areas.

Some other features that they have added to the app are:

Transaction history for users who wish to claim their parking fees,
Tokens that do not expire (RM1 = 100 tokens, the app currency for parking),
Token sharing so that users have more options to manage tokens.

Recently, DBKL’s announcement that it would use various cashless payment apps for parking caused a stir when JomParking was initially not known as one of them.

Users found this strange as they were used to using JomParking in DBKL areas since 2015 when it was the only cashless payment in that area.

This problem was later corrected and JomParking became active again in DBKL zones, for the convenience of its users.

Transition to corporate partnerships

As a startup, JomParking recognized early on the importance of visibility. They joined the first MaGIC cohort of its Global Accelerator Program (GAP) and were able to present their solutions to industry experts and potential investors.

Today, they can stay connected to the community through exhibitions, events and conferences. All of this opened up new opportunities for the team.

The JomParking team at an event / Photo credit: JomParking

They were even able to present their products and services overseas at InnoVEX in Taipei, Taiwan.

JomParking has also ventured into corporate partnerships, and one of the most recent is with a VC from South Korea, TheVentures.

“Our strategic partnership with TheVentures will allow us to improve our systems and technologies to drive the digitization of the parking industry in Southeast Asia,” said Nasir.

“This is in line with our goal of establishing the first vehicle data exchange in Southeast Asia while promoting the parking industry’s transition to the introduction of the Smart City concept.”

To make this a reality, they work closely with other agencies such as MaGIC, MARii, MDEC, SITEC, Cradle and Cyberview.

Driving growth locally and globally

“Ultimately the goal is to cover all of Malaysia because the potential for digitizing parking is huge and across the country,” Nasir responded when Vulcan Post asked about some of the following areas that JomParking wanted settle down.

Currently, JomParking has more than 20 locations across the country and 2 locations around the world in Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

Even during the CMCO, they were able to open two new local venues including Tanah Merah, Kelantan and Taman Mutiara Raya, Cheras, mentioned above.

There are 17 new sites in the pipeline: 10 in Germany and 7 abroad.

Every time the website was launched, they did on-site marketing for two weeks to get the word out.

Additionally, they run various online campaigns and have worked with well-known brands such as Grab, Huawei, AirAsia, and iflix.

It’s true that there are other players in the cashless parking payment arena, but Nasir doesn’t see the competition as a concern.

For him, competition is only a way to continue to stimulate innovation, and each company has its own advantages and disadvantages.

He even added more diplomatically: “JomParking is excited not only to share the trick of the trade with other countries interested in digitizing their parking payment systems, but also to coexist with other applications.”