SimplePark works with a balance. You put credit on your account up front, and the cost of a parking session comes off it when you stop. You top up in the app with iDEAL, at your own bank. If your account has direct debit, your balance may go negative and the outstanding amount is collected from your linked bank account by SEPA direct debit.
Overview
| How you pay | When | Cost per payment |
|---|---|---|
| Topping up with iDEAL | Up front, by you | € 0.29 transaction costs |
| SEPA direct debit | Afterwards, automatically | € 0.29 transaction costs |
All payments run through Mollie, a payment provider supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank. Topping up always means logging in at your own bank; SimplePark itself keeps no bank details from a top-up.
Balance: you pay up front
You top up under Profile › Balance with the Top up button. On that screen you enter an amount under Choose your own amount, or tap one of the four suggested amounts. Those four are not fixed: the first is the lowest amount possible for you at that moment, at least € 2, and a single payment tops out at € 500. At the bottom it says "Excluding transaction costs of € 0.29". Your balance cannot exceed € 1,000; at that ceiling the top-up screen tells you to use some of your credit first. More on this in Paying with iDEAL.
When you start a parking session you always set an end time. If you pay from your balance, the app works out up front what the session costs and holds that amount off your credit. Stop earlier and the price is recalculated, with the difference staying on your balance.
Direct debit: you pay afterwards
Direct debit becomes available once your account has built a positive payment history. Until then, Profile › Balance › Direct debit shows Not yet available and you top up with the Top up button. With direct debit on, we collect your parking costs and debit them around the end of the month, or earlier as soon as you reach your billing threshold. See Setting up direct debit.
If a direct debit fails, or your balance is negative without a mandate, we put the amount on an invoice. You pay it through the button in the email or through the Outstanding payment message with the Pay now button in the app. While that invoice is open, you cannot park.
What the app does not have
iDEAL is the only way to top up; there is no screen offering PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The verification payment that links a bank account also goes through iDEAL, fixed. Paying cash or settling a SimplePark session at the parking meter is not possible either. What a parking session costs is on our rates page.