Airtel Kenya has partnered payments firm Jambo Pay and Nairobi City Council to allow Kenyans to pay for parking fees via its Airtel Money service.

In a bid to cut down on time spent by motorists in the capital locating parking attendants to pay, Airtel Money customers can now simply dial *217# and follow the steps on the menu.

They can also download the Nairobi City County App on Google Play from an Android phone, or access the Nairobi City web portal on their phones.

“We want to create convenience for our customers in all spheres and especially in making payments, this is the motivation behind the introduction of a simpler payment option for Nairobi motorists through Airtel Money,” said Airtel Kenya chief executive officer (CEO) Adil El Youssefi.

Danson Muchemi, CEO of Jambo Pay, said: “The convergence of our activities with Airtel Money will bring Nairobi motorists more comfort and flexibility, by allowing them to choose their preferred service provider, while making parking fees payment through Jambo Pay.”

Nairobi City County executive  for ICT and e-government Anne Lokidor said: “Through this new partnership with Airtel and Jambo Pay, Nairobi City County government is demonstrating its commitment to promoting ease of conducting business in the City of Nairobi and is part of our commitment to eradicate bottlenecks to investment and innovation. By pairing Airtel’s brand leadership and innovative footprint with Jambo Pay’s innovative technology, together we will be able to capitalize on the many exciting growth opportunities that this system has to offer.”

Airtel has also recently partnered the Kenya Airports Parking Services (KAPS) to enable its customers to pay for their parking fees using Airtel Money.

A similar arrangement is also available in Cape Town, South Africa, where car owners can pay for parking using mobile payments app SnapScan.

The startup has partnered parking operator Street Parking Solutions (SPS) to pilot SnapScan as an alternative payment method, with parking officials in the CBD equipped with their own unique SnapCode, which a car owner must scan to pay using a credit or debit card. The parking official then receives an SMS on their dedicated SnapScan mobile device, from which they can print a receipt.

“SnapScan has always been about simplifying payments,” said Kobus Ehlers, co-founder of SnapScan. “Street parking was a natural fit, since we could see the app adding value for both users and the marshals themselves. For users especially, this removes the need to fiddle with small change or rush to draw money when all they want to do is go about their business in the CBD.”

Cape Town councillor Brett Herron said the city spent a lot of time managing the small change people used to pay for parking, something which SnapScan would ease.