Seamless Parking Arrives at UAE Malls

Cashless Parking Expands in UAE: Two Abu Dhabi Malls Join Salik and Parkonic System

From July 18, two popular Abu Dhabi shopping centers will offer a ticket-free and barrier-free parking system managed by Salik and Parkonic. Al Wahda Mall and Dalma Mall are joining other facilities where vehicle license plate recognition is used for payment, and the amount is directly deducted from the vehicle owner’s Salik account.

How does the new parking system work?

The core of the system is the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera that identifies the vehicle's license plate upon arrival and departure. There are no barriers, so the flow of traffic remains uninterrupted: drivers simply enter, park, and leave without pulling a ticket or using cash.

For Dalma Mall, visitors can park for free for three hours from Monday to Friday, with all-day free parking on weekends and holidays. After the three free hours, the fee is 10 dirhams per hour. Payment is completely cashless and automatically charged to the Salik account.

As for Al Wahda Mall, pricing is still being finalized, and payments will not be processed through the Salik system but via the Parkonic app, website, or on-site pay machines.

The system is also spreading in Dubai

This modern parking solution is already implemented at various locations in Dubai, such as the Golden Mile Galleria on Palm Jumeirah, The Town Mall in Jebel Ali and Dubai Investment Park, as well as Dubai Sports City (surface and multi-level parking), and The Palm Monorail.

These locations have been using the system based on the Salik and Parkonic partnership for a while, aiming to make parking simpler, faster, and more transparent for residents and visitors.

Benefits and future vision

The Salik–Parkonic collaboration officially started in November 2023, aiming to make Salik the default payment channel at Parkonic-operated locations. This offers convenience and time savings for drivers since there's no need to register separately for each new parking spot, avoiding the hassles associated with cash payments or parking tickets.

The fully digital and barrier-free operation of the system reduces congestion, increases traffic flow, and enhances user experience, while ANPR technology ensures reliable and accurate fee calculation.

Summary

This innovation marks another step towards ensuring that UAE stands out as a smart city and technology leader providing the most modern services to its residents. The digital parking offered by Salik and Parkonic is becoming available at more locations not only in Abu Dhabi but also in Dubai, signaling the advent of even more commercial and business centers offering cashless, quick, and barrier-free parking in the future.

(Source of the article: Parkonic and Salik PJSC press release.)