Digital Payment Technologies Expands With Cellular

Founded in 1997, Digital Payment Technologies (DPT) is a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of parking management technologies for the North American parking industry. The company’s highly advanced multi-space parking pay stations are supported by the Web-based Enterprise Management System (EMS), a best-in-class management software program designed specifically for the parking industry.

Challenges

Enlisted in 2003 by University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), DPT developed pay stations that connected to the Internet, DPT originally developed their parking payment solution using WiFi for connectivity. Unfortunately, DPT experienced “all kinds of problems with the WiFi connectivity.”

The need for reliable connectivity, secure data transmission and low power consumption prompted DPT to begin investigating a 3G cellular solution.

Solution

After careful testing, DPT selected the AirLink Raven XT as a reliable 3G cellular connection gateway. The Raven XT gateway’s sleek, compact form factor enables integration within existing infrastructure and enclosures, and its low power needs allow DPT the flexibility solar or battery power.

One of the most critical aspects of DPT’s pay station solutions is the ability to securely collect and verify credit card payments in real-time. DPT is the only pay station manufacturer with both a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) organization-level certification and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) product-level certification required for credit card transactions.

Of DPT’s total pay station deployments, about 90 percent of pay stations shipped are setup with real-time credit card transaction capabilities, and about half of those are wireless. The Raven XT intelligent communications gateway allows for real-time credit card validation, saving operators from lost revenue resulting from overdrawn accounts or
stolen card usage.

The Sierra Wireless AirLink Raven-E solution has resulted in significant benefits to Ecast
and their operators:

• Cost and time savings – Reduce overall solution costs by eliminating potential need for landline installation or up-front costs of building a WiFi network.
• Security – 3G cellular technology and the AirLink Raven XT provide data security standards that meet the PA-DSS certification.
• Rugged specifications – The Raven XT is built to rugged specifications for the harshest environmental conditions.