May 2023 update

In 2021, a review of the borough’s parking infrastructure was reviewed. In 2022, 42 high-usage, aged ‘pay and display’ (P&D) machines were replaced with modern upgraded terminals at various designated parking locations on-street and in car parks across Merton. All new machines accept payment by cash, with the car park machines also accepting debit/credit card payments by chip and contactless method. The RingGo cashless payment service is also available at all charged parking locations.

The majority (86%) of motorists pay through the RingGo cashless service, and the uptake of cashless payments continues to rise.

In 2021-2022 a number of very low-usage outdated machines were removed from locations across the borough, with viable alternative payment options being available to motorists. With the majority of Merton’s estate of older P&D machines nearing the end of their operational life, it is not feasible to maintain those that are not covering their costs.

By the end of summer 2023, a number of old P&D machines will be removed. Motorists will have access to local alternative machines and will still have the option to use the RingGo cashless service, and PayPoint, where all available.

The remaining on-street P&D machines will continue to be reviewed in the future in respect of their covering costs and operational reliability.

RingGo cashless service

At all designated paid-for parking locations, motorists are offered the option to pay by telephone call, SMS or mobile app using RingGo. On-site signs explain how, or you can visit our our Pay by Mobile Phone for Parking page. You do not need a smartphone to use RingGo and can use a standard mobile phone.

Users of the RingGo cashless parking service can already:

• pay without the need of coins,
• pay at their convenience and not have the need to purchase and display a ticket,
• extend their parking session,
• receive SMS reminders about the expiry of their session (this is an opt in or out service)
• review their parking history and preference

PayPoint network

A cash payment option is available at PayPoint retailers, of which there are some near to parking areas. When a customer enters a PayPoint location the customer would pay the shopkeeper in cash and their session would be uploaded to the RingGo solution. This is a payment option that is already in use across other London boroughs, however with the migration to cashless options the uptake remains very low.

For a map of PayPoint locations, see Pay for Parking at a PayPoint.