PayStay 4+

Melbourne City Council don’t play nicely... they let you pay for parking with the app, they take your money, but then they start counting the time limit from the instant your car pulls into the parking spot (via sensors buried in the road surface)... not the 2 minutes later it has taken you to get out of the car, find the zone number and start your parking. I’ve had 2 tickets because I was in the parking spot for 2-3 minutes over the the “time limit” even though the app said I was still covered... as this is a public forum all I can say is that this is “poor form from a bunch of gouging bureaucrats”

I think it is in PayStay’s interest to address this even though I know it’s not your fault

Hi Gjme64, thank you for your feedback. I will pass it onto the Melbourne City Council, however i would also advise that you contact the council directly as well.

As an app developer myself I can't, I simply can't use this app. It so bad on many levels. It's 2023! - Where's Apple Pay? Where's Google Pay? Where's PayPal for crying out loud. There's no way I'm giving you my credit card details. Uber and Food delivery business have no problem with using Apple Pay why should you? - Why do I need to use your logon system? Why should I be giving you my personal details. My car registration is all you need to know. I don't trust you, there were enough of security breaches in the last few years. Why don't you have a single sign on with google and apple? - And cherry on top. Why do I need a minimum balance? What purpose does it serve? How many ppl's money you're just keeping in your accounts and accumulating interest. What a cash grab operation and fraud. Some council IT manager somewhere has a real nice kick back from this.

Update: I just received a response from the developer and can only shake my head in disbelief. What security checks? Why street meters don't conduct security checks? As for "make sure users have funds in their account" is just confirming my assumption that developers of the app are just amateurs and something shady is going on. I should probably report it ICAC. To secure the funds there's credit card pre-authorisation for exactly this purpose.

Hi dimz-5, thanks for your feedback! Some of your personal details are required as we conduct security checks if you contact us wanting assistance with your account. The minimum balance is in place to make sure users have funds in their account to use for parking.

As a founder and entrepreneur in the SaaS space in 2023, I find this app's current state quite concerning. In an age where digital payments like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal are ubiquitous, their absence here is a glaring oversight. Given the heightened awareness around data security, especially after numerous breaches in recent years, the reluctance to adopt a more secure and user-friendly payment system is perplexing. Our industry standard is to minimize friction for the user, yet this app insists on a proprietary login system and unnecessary collection of personal data. Why isn't there an option for a streamlined single sign-on with giants like Google or Apple? Furthermore, the rationale behind enforcing a minimum balance policy seems counterintuitive and potentially suggests a revenue generation strategy that isn't transparent. This approach could be seen as a significant misstep, especially if it's perceived as a method for accruing interest on user funds. It's critical to align such operational decisions with user expectations and industry standards.

Hi Amigome, thanks for your feedback! Our new app update does now allow users to sign in with Google or Apple. The low balance threshold ensures users have funds in their account to use to pay for parking.