How credit works at SimplePark

At SimplePark, you pay for your parking sessions with credit. You top up your balance whenever it suits you, and every parking session is automatically deducted from it. No invoices afterwards, no separate charges per session, and never a surprise at the end of the month. In this article, we explain exactly how credit works, why we deliberately chose this approach, and how to get the most value out of it.

What is credit?

Your credit is the balance you use to park with SimplePark. As soon as you stop a parking session, the parking costs are deducted from your balance right away. In the app, you can always see exactly how much credit you have left, so you're never caught off guard.

How do you top up?

Topping up is done directly in the app, through Mollie's trusted payment environment. You choose the amount yourself: a minimum of €2 and a maximum of €500. To make things easy, a few popular amounts are ready for you to pick: €5, €15 or €25.

We charge a €0.29 transaction fee per top-up. This is added on top of the amount you deposit. For example, if you top up €25, you pay €25.29 and €25.00 in credit is added to your account. You'll find a clear overview of all costs on our pricing page.

Once your payment is completed, the balance appears on your account almost instantly. Only if your bank is experiencing a delay might it occasionally take a little longer. So you can even top up at the moment you've already parked your car.

Why did we choose credit?

Simple: because it protects you. With pay-afterwards systems, we saw people regularly getting into trouble. You park a few times, the costs quietly pile up, and at the end of the month a bill suddenly lands on your doormat that's higher than expected. If it can't be paid, reminders and extra charges follow, and nobody's happy about that.

With credit, that can't happen. You decide in advance how much you spend, and you can never park for more than you've deposited. That way you stay in control and always park worry-free.

And let's be honest: it helps us too. Because we don't spend time and money on invoicing, payment reminders and debt collection, we can fully focus on what we do best: making the simplest parking app in the Netherlands even better. In the end, everyone benefits from that.

Good to know: credit is not a wallet

Your credit is a prepayment for our parking service, not a piggy bank or digital wallet. This means that deposited credit cannot be refunded to your bank account. After all, we're a parking app, not a bank. Your balance simply stays on your account for your next parking sessions.

Our advice is therefore: top up with amounts that match how often you park. Which brings us straight to a handy tip.

Top up smartly

Since the €0.29 transaction fee applies per top-up (regardless of the amount), you're better off depositing a slightly higher amount in one go.

A quick calculation: if you top up €5 five times, you pay the transaction fee five times, €1.45 in total. If you deposit that same €25 in one go, you only pay €0.29 once. So if you park regularly, feel free to choose a higher amount. That way, you end up paying as little as possible overall.

Even easier: direct debit

Have you been parking with SimplePark for a while and built up a positive payment history? Then we may enable direct debit for your account. You'll automatically receive an email as soon as it becomes available to you.

With direct debit, you no longer need to top up yourself: the amount due is automatically debited from your bank account.

Parking without worries

With the credit system, you always know where you stand: you pay in advance, see your balance in real time, and never face any surprises. Top up smartly, park worry-free, and leave the rest to us.

Don't have SimplePark yet? Download the app and add your first credit. You'll be parked within a minute.