Parking Payment Machines
Unattended and attended parking payment machines for surface lots and garages. Pay-on-foot kiosks, drive-up exit terminals, and pay and display equipment — all manufactured in-house by Parking BOXX.
Types of Parking Payment Machines
Parking payment machines come in several form factors depending on how drivers interact with the facility. Parking BOXX manufactures all machine types in-house and can configure the right option — or a combination of options — for your lot or garage.
Pay-on-Foot Kiosk
A standalone payment kiosk installed inside the parking garage, typically near an elevator, lobby, or stairwell exit. The driver takes a ticket at entry, parks, then walks to the kiosk to pay before going to the car. The validated ticket or a grace-period code allows exit through the barrier gate. Reduces congestion at exit lanes during peak hours.
Drive-Up Exit Terminal
Mounted at the exit lane, the driver pays while seated in the vehicle. The exit terminal accepts the ticket, calculates the fee based on duration or pricing model, processes payment, and opens the barrier gate. Drive-up terminals work for flat-rate, hourly, and event pricing. The standard configuration for most gated surface lots and commercial garages.
Attended / Cashier Terminal
A cashier-facing terminal used in staffed exit lanes or cashier booths. The operator processes the ticket, applies validations or discounts, accepts cash or card, and opens the gate manually or automatically. Attended terminals integrate with CloudEASE so every transaction is recorded alongside those from unattended lanes — providing a complete revenue picture across the facility.
Pay On Foot Machines
Pay-on-foot machines are standalone payment kiosks mounted inside a parking garage — near elevator lobbies, main building entrances, or stairwells. Drivers pay before returning to their car rather than at the exit lane, which eliminates the bottleneck of payment processing at the gate during peak hours.
After payment, the machine issues a validated ticket or a grace-period code (typically 15–30 minutes). When the driver reaches the exit, the barrier gate reads the validated ticket or license plate and opens automatically. No payment is required at the exit — the machine already handled it inside.
Custom parking payment terminal options are available for pay-on-foot installations — housing color, logo, screen messaging, and receipt branding can all match your facility.
- Reduces exit lane congestion by moving payment inside
- Works for garages and multi-level surface lots
- Grace period configurable per facility (typically 15–30 minutes)
- Accepts all payment methods: tap, chip, cash, mobile wallet
- Integrates with CloudEASE for real-time transaction logging
Pay-on-foot flow
Driver enters — ticket issued
Entry ticket machine dispenses a barcode ticket and opens the barrier gate. Entry time is recorded in CloudEASE.
Driver parks
The driver parks and completes their visit. The system tracks the open session.
Driver pays at kiosk before leaving
On the way out, the driver inserts or scans the ticket at the pay-on-foot kiosk. The machine calculates the fee and accepts payment by card, tap, cash, or mobile wallet.
Validated ticket — grace period starts
The machine validates the ticket and starts a grace-period timer (15–30 minutes). The driver retrieves their car.
Exit gate opens automatically
The driver presents the validated ticket at the exit lane. The barrier gate reads the validation and opens without requiring additional payment.
Pay and Display Machines
Pay and display parking machines collect the parking fee and print a receipt or time-stamped ticket that the driver displays on the vehicle's dashboard. Parking enforcement officers verify payment by checking the displayed ticket without contacting the driver or the vehicle.
Pay and display machines are common for on-street parking, open surface lots, and locations where installing barrier gates is not practical. Parking BOXX manufactures pay and display machines for sale across North America — in configurations that support flat rate, hourly, and time-limited parking.
Modern pay and display machines from Parking BOXX accept credit card, tap-to-pay, and mobile wallet payments — replacing the older coin-only models that required drivers to have exact change. Machines can be configured for single-space or multi-space coverage.
- Flat rate, hourly, or time-limited pricing
- Credit card, tap, mobile wallet — no coins required
- Hardwired power with battery backup for power-loss protection
- Receipt printed with time purchased and expiry time
- CloudEASE integration for transaction reporting
- Custom branding — housing color, logo, signage
Parking Machines With or Without Barrier Gates
Parking BOXX machines fall into two groups: gated systems and the Smart Parking Meter. The pay stations and payment machines in a gated system (Big Pay BOXX, Mini Pay BOXX, Flat Rate BOXX, and Cashier BOXX) require barrier gates. The Smart Parking Meter is the pay station that works without gates. The right choice depends on your facility layout, traffic volume, and revenue goals.
| Setup | How payment works | How non-payment is controlled | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Parking Meter: pay and display | The parker enters, parks, then pays at a walk-up machine. A receipt goes on the dashboard. | Enforcement officers check the displayed receipt. | Small surface lots, event parking, and facilities adding paid parking for the first time |
| Smart Parking Meter: pay by space | The parker enters the space number where they parked, then pays. | Officers print Valid Space or Empty Space reports to find violations. | Surface lots with marked spaces |
| Smart Parking Meter: pay by license plate | The parker enters their license plate, then pays. | Officers view valid-plate reports from the machine, online, or on a citation writer. | Lots where plate-based enforcement is already in place |
| Gated system: flat rate | A flat-rate payment at entry or exit. In a two-lane setup, only one lane needs a payment machine; the other has a barrier gate that opens when a vehicle is detected. | Vehicles cannot leave without paying, and the detection gate prevents wrong-way drive-outs. | Event lots and daily-rate facilities |
| Gated system: full featured | A ticket prints at entry and the fee is charged by time at exit. Supports unattended or attended payment, intercoms, access cards, validations, and reservations. | Vehicles cannot leave without payment or authorized credentials. | Garages and lots with time-based rates |
Gated machines are generally more secure because a vehicle cannot exit without completing payment or presenting authorized credentials. Smart Parking Meters scale easily and need no gate hardware, but they depend on a consistent enforcement program. See our barrier gates for gated lanes and our parking pay stations for the full range of pay station models.
Payment Technology and Options
Parking BOXX parking payment machines support the full range of payment technology that drivers expect. All machines are EMV chip compliant and PCI certified.
Tap-to-Pay / Contactless
Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and tap-enabled credit and debit cards. Driver taps once — payment processes, gate opens. No PIN or signature required under standard transaction limits. Fastest throughput of any payment method.
EMV Chip Card
Full EMV chip processing for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. PCI DSS certified. Chip cards are inserted and processed within seconds — no magnetic swipe fallback needed on modern machines.
Cash — Bills & Coins
Bill validator accepts $1, $5, $10, and $20 denominations. Coin mechanism accepts quarters, dimes, and nickels. Change dispensed as coins. Configurable to accept or reject specific denominations based on facility preference.
LPR Layered Entry / Exit
License plate recognition serves as the primary entry and exit layer — registered monthly permit holders exit without stopping; the plate is their credential. Transient drivers without a registered plate pay by plate number at the machine using a linked card or mobile account.
Debit Card Processing
Debit cards processed as credit (signature) or PIN debit, depending on machine configuration and network settings. Both Interac (Canada) and US debit networks supported — important for facilities serving both markets or cross-border traffic.
Intercom / Assistance
Built-in VoIP or analog intercom connects drivers directly to an attendant or remote call center. Used for payment disputes, accessibility needs, lost tickets, and after-hours access. Integrates with CloudEASE audit trail for every assist event.
Custom Parking Payment Terminals
Because Parking BOXX manufactures its parking payment machines in-house, custom configurations are available — from cosmetic changes like color and logo to structural changes like mounting options and housing dimensions.
Custom branding on parking payment equipment is especially valuable for property owners and operators who want their parking facilities to reinforce the overall brand experience of a hotel, hospital, airport, or mixed-use development. A machine finished in your colors, with your logo on the housing, is often the first unattended touchpoint a customer has with your property.
Discuss custom options →Why Choose Parking BOXX Payment Machines
Parking BOXX is a manufacturer — not a reseller. Every parking payment machine we sell was designed and built in our North American facility. That means shorter lead times, direct engineering support, and a single accountable team for hardware, software, and installation.
- LPR-ready on all machine types — layered LPR exit for registered parkers, ticket-based fallback for everyone else
- App-based payment option — driver pays by phone, no card or cash required at the machine
- CloudEASE cloud reporting — every transaction logged and accessible from any device
- Full North America installation and service coverage — US and Canada
- Custom branding available on all models — color, logo, screen messaging, receipts
- EMV compliant, PCI certified — meets all card network and data security requirements
- Single-vendor accountability — hardware, software, and support from one team
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about machine types, payment options, custom branding, or software integration? One call will cover it.
Ask yoursWhat is a parking payment machine?
What is a car parking payment machine?
What is a pay-on-foot parking machine?
What payment methods do parking payment machines accept?
What is a pay and display parking machine?
Can parking payment machines be customized with branding?
What is the difference between a parking payment machine and a pay station?
What is the difference between a parking machine with and without barrier gates?
How does a parking payment machine connect to management software?
Complete the system
Parking payment machines work as part of a complete parking system. These are the components that connect to them.
Find the right parking payment machine.
Tell us about your facility — garage or surface lot, number of lanes, expected volume, and payment preferences — and we'll recommend the right machine configuration and send a quote, usually within one business day.