Electronic payments made through credit cards and debit cards can improve the efficiency and the convenience of consumer transactions. Shoppers greatly appreciate the ability to make payments through these means - and many service providers are rushing to allow them the ability to do so. 

Approximately half of the parking meters in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for example, have recently been updated so they can accept payments through credit card and debit card processing terminals, according to a report from Nexstar Broadcasting. City leaders explained that the change was necessitated by widespread shopper support for credit card processing as a preferred mode of making payments. 

Shannon Gilman, a student at a local university, told the news source that electronic payments are much more convenient than paying by cash. She feels that many University students will make use of the meters now even if they hadn't been doing so previously. By offering terminals that accept credit cards, businesses and service providers give themselves an oppurtunity to attract a new - and usually, younger - client base.

"It's definitely a smart idea because it's always annoying looking for coins all around your car and in your wallet but everyone always has their credit card on them," Gilman told the news outlet.

Megan Fortuner, a graduate student at the University of Scranton, testified that paying with coins is far inferior to making payments with debit cards and credit cards. She expects to use the new meters much more now that they're optimized for electronic payments, noting that cash payments are often much less efficient than those made with electronic cards. 

"I would definitely use it," Fortuner told the news outlet. "It would be much easier for me. I'm always looking for change and I'm always trying to get rolls of quarters when I cash my checks."

Other cities also optimizing parking meters for credit card processing
Many other towns and cities are following in Scranton's footsteps and installing new parking meters that are prepared to process electronic cards during transactions - illustrating the widespread consumer demand for merchants to accept credit payments regardless of their sector or service.

Parking meters strewn about President Clinton Avenue in Little Rock, AR., were recently given a major upgrade, according to Arkansas news source KARK. The new meters are solar powered and are outfitted with credit card processing terminals, helping city officers to improve the district.