The City of Birmingham has entered into an agreement with a tech company that will allow anyone parking in the downtown area to pay for their spot with an app.

The company, ParkMobile, provides their app for free, and it is available on both the Android and iPhone platforms.

Consumers create an account in the app where they enter the license plate of their vehicle. They then enter the information that is posted on the parking meter to indicate where their car is located, and pay for the time they need.

ParkMobile then communicates with the Birmingham police which vehicles have paid for their spot.

The company already has a presence in Alabama, where cities Montgomery and Mobile both preceded Birmingham in partnering with ParkMobile.

The firm, founded and headquartered in Atlanta, says it has over 600,000 monthly users.

Payment methods that allow customers to make a purchase without interacting with another human or public surface, often termed “Contactless payment options,” have increased in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The City of Birmingham, Alabama is happy to partner with ParkMobile to provide our downtown with a contactless payment option for parking,” said Mayor Randall Woodfin in a statement.

“As a result of COVID-19, we’re seeing a rise in contactless parking payments in cities across the country as people and it is good to see that people in Birmingham will now have this option,” remarked Jon Ziglar, CEO of ParkMobile.

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95