Pécs, November 11, 2011. . – The new mobile-telephone based parking payment system in Pécs has no surcharges, charges per minute, functions with bank cards and can be used by foreigners as well.

A new mobile-telephone based parking payment system has been introduced in Pécs, which, unlike the systems used in Budapest and other Hungarian cities, has no surcharges. Parking passes are purchased using the mobile telephone, but not by sending a text message. The purchase is made through an application that is downloaded to the telephone, so the payment is not charged to the telephone bill or deducted from a pre-paid phone card, but is charged directly to a Visa or MasterCard type bank card, thus this service can be used by both local and foreign users.

This new service is available through the iziSHOP shopping system, which has been functioning since 2007, for the purchase of highway vignettes, travel insurance, concert tickets, restaurant meals and bus passes and tickets for the Pécs transit system. The innovation in this new parking application is that it combines various payment systems. Fixed-length parking tickets for 15, 30 and 60 minutes, 2 hours and up to the whole day can be purchased. The advantage of a fixed-length ticket being that the purchaser doesn't forget to “stop the clock” and accidentally end up paying for much more time that he parked. In the new system, however, the fixed-length ticket can be “stopped” and the cost of the remaining time is creditted back to the bank card. Thus the user only pays for the actual length of time he parked and there are no surcharges. The only additional charge is that of the mobile data communication, which, depending on the service provider and package, ranges from1-20 forints, but is free if the user has a mobile internet subscription.
“Our new parking system is uniquely user-friendly, even at a national level, which is great publicity for Pécs,” commented Dr. Tibor Kiss, manager of Biokom Kft., the company which operates pay parking in Pécs. For more than two years, iziSHOP has also provided the country's first mobile-telephone based city transit pass and ticket service in Pécs. “Now we can use the same mobile application to pay for parking and purchase city transit passes,” stated Csaba Nagy, assistant mayor, calling attention to an important aspect of the news.

Only one application needs to be downloaded to a mobile telephone to make use of all iziSHOP services, which is presently available in Hungarian, English, German, Croatian and Russian. The download is complete in just a couple minutes. For Java-enabled telephones, one needs to send the code word “izishop” in a base-rate text message to 06 70 70 60 500, while for Android phones it is available in the Android market. The service can be accessed with other devices as well at www.iziSHOP.hu in a web browser. Payments are made providing bank card information via mobile phone. Users have the possibility to safely save their bank card data within the iziSHOP system and in this case, when it is time to pay, they simply enter their iziSHOP PIN code. Payment security is guaranteed by CIB Bank, iziSHOP's bank service partner (for more information: www.izishop.hu, downloads.izishop.hu)

BIOKOM Pécs Municipal Services and Sanitation Ltd. - www.biokom.hu
The city council of Pécs, as of January 1, 2011, commissioned Biokom Ltd, which had also had the previous mandate, with the following responsibilities: municipal development, municipal sanitation, environmental protection of built-up and natural areas, water systems and drainage, sewage, upkeep of local roads and parks, parking.

Hedz Hungary Ltd. – www.hedz.hu
Hedz Ltd is a software technology company that has specialized in the development of mobile and internet payment applications. Hedz provides innovative solutions for utilities and other services, as well as banks, to increase their efficiency with the mobile telephone and internet-based electronic channels. The company has won some of the most highly respected national and international prizes for its products, which include mobile banking systems; mo-bill (www.mo-bill.hu), which is a complete electronic billing and payment services for utility providers (EBPP), as well as iziSHOP, a mobile-based bank card payment system developed for the purchase for transport-related and entertainment products and services (www.izishop.hu).

CIB Bank - www.cib.hu
CIB Bank is a member of Italy’s largest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo. In its 30 years of service, it has developed from an exclusively corporate bank to becoming Hungary’s second largest commercial bank, providing complete commercial and investment services to corporations, governmental agencies, companies and private clients. CIB is not only a bank, but a banking group, which, beyond traditional commercial banking and investment services, also offers a leading leasing company, fund management and factoring products. CIB Bank considers the development and support of innovative solutions to be of prime importance, thus is pleased to be the financial partner for a pioneering company like Hedz Hungary Ltd,