The town of Brookline, Mass., has launched a prepaid card program that allows residents to pay for parking with a reloadable card that is also accepted by many of the town's merchants.
Brookline, a town adjacent to Boston and accessible by that city's transit system, plans to encourage shopping at Brookline retailers through the new prepaid card, which accesses encrypted payment data through a chip instead of a magnetic stripe.
"If people can get parking easily, and come in with the same card to shop, I think it will enhance their experience," Dana Brigham, the manager and co-owner of Brookline Booksmith, a bookseller located at Brookline's Coolidge Corner, said in a press release Thursday.
"If there's anything that will bring customers into the store and make them have a good experience, we're all for it," Brigham said.
The card, provided by PXT Payments of Hampton Falls, N.H., is purchased online and can be reloaded at the merchant locations that accept it. The town is encouraging adoption by providing a $5 promotional bonus to anyone loading $50 at a merchant location before Nov. 7.
Marge Amster, the commercial areas coordinator for Brookline, said the system is meant to attract shoppers who favor suburban malls for their easy parking.
"It doesn't do anyone any good if local citizens are driving out to suburban malls just becase it's easy to park and there are discounts available," Amster said in the press release. "We've matched that now."
