An Ode to Myself on My Birthday (HonkTAP)

Happy birthday to me — I’m two years old!

What a ride it’s been
So much has changed since I debuted my shiny new self 
I remember it clearly:
It was at the International Parking & Mobility Institute’s Conference 
in Anaheim California back in 2019.

I shocked the world with my revolutionary payment application:
An easy solution without any mobile application
A first-of-its-kind express guest checkout
All the functionalities of a pay station — with none of the capital cost or maintenance
The look and feel of a mobile app — with no need to download, install, or sign up

(You can’t say I lack confidence.)

Oh, how I’ve grown and evolved these past 24 months
From the design of my very first signs (#tbt),
To the seamless integration into iOS (hello, App Clips!)
My patent-pending payment solution has nicely evolved into the beauty she is today

(Nobody said I was humble either.)

And boy oh boy, I came to be a whole year before the world as we once knew it changed forever
Before consumers realized they would even need me — like, really need me
When the pandemic hit in March of 2020 
The payments landscape would feel the repercussions first hand:
Safety. Cleanliness. Touch-Free 
Once nice-to-have, now need-to-have
And I, HonkTAP — as the next generation of contactless payments — was the answer
The solution, the “pivot” the world of parking (and beyond) would need for their operation to survive
… and eventually thrive.

Because parking operators and lot owners suddenly had to offer their customers a safe & clean way to pay
One that was barrier free
And I came to the rescue!
Quick and easy to install, plus no learning curve for customers,
I was a foolproof solution.

Friction. Now the stuff of fiction.

I launched in 60+ cities in North America
To help operators offer contactless ways to pay
And to give customers a simple and safe solution

I relish in the memory of my Apple App Clips feature in World Developer Week (I’m famous!),
To giving small towns a new source of income in a time when their budgets were tight,
To providing colleges and universities a safe way for students and staff to pay for campus parking
Operators of all shapes and sizes came to me, trusted me, depended on me 

(You can’t blame me for having a big head.)

All this to say:
I can’t wait for what’s coming next
I’m only just getting started

For now, I'll bask in my 2 year anniversary...
Of being me:
HonkTAP — your friendly neighborhood parking payments solution
(Now where’s my cake?!)