Parking tax too much.
Dear LG Focus:
Motorists in the Leichhardt Council area could be paying almost half a million dollars more in parking fees if major international credit card companies Visa and Mastercard have their way.
Visa and MasterCard are trying to force Leichhardt and other councils across Sydney to spend millions of dollars of rate payers’ money upgrading parking meters to meet their new security requirements.
The upgrade of these meters would cost ratepayers over $450,000 just in the Leichhardt local government area.
Council also estimates that the cost to Councils across Australia of achieving Europay MasterCard and Visa(EMV) compliance on parking meters alone could be as high as $30m.
Worse still, neither company will guarantee that further costly changes won’t be required within the next 12 months.
I think that it is outrageous that multinational credit card companies expect local residents, commuters and shoppers to foot the bill for the upgrade, potentially on an annual basis.
Council is determined to make parking easier and cheaper in our neighborhoods that’s why we’ve introduced 30 minute free parking for all of our main streets.
We’re not going to stand by and accept a forced increase to line the pockets of multinationals like Visa and MasterCard.
The credit companies have introduced a new global standard for credit cards EMV and have dictated that all parking meters that accept credit cards need to be EMV compliant.
Council has 139 meters on its main streets that accept both coins and credit card payment, and the would all require an upgrade.
Councillor Darcy Byrne
Mayor of Leichhardt
