Overview

Passport’s electronic validation system enables merchants to offer parking promotions (including discounted parking) to their customers. The client (e.g., a city) can provide the validation, or the client can advertise the validation process to local businesses or departments (in universities, for instance), who then offer discounted parking to their customers / staff etc.

Merchants can:

• Load a balance onto the validation system 
• Set automatic balance recharge amounts
• Create validation types by name and dollar amount 
• Get real-time reporting of validation activity

Validation Types define the settings and are used to generate Validation Codes.

Validation Codes are strings of alphanumeric characters.

Process

• Merchant loads a balance on the validation account management site.
• Merchant creates codes for a predetermined amount to allow customers to discount their parking session. 
• Customer enters the code to receive discount on their parking session.
• Validation amount is then deducted from the merchant balance and transferred to the parking provider. 

Fund Flow

Validation Code Funding

• When you first set up a merchant validation account, you are required to add a credit card and deposit at least $50 to fund the merchant account.
• You will not be charged to generate validation codes. Validation accounts are only debited the amount validated during that transaction. If the account does not have sufficient funds at the time of the code being generated, customers will see an error from within the application.
• If a code is worth $11 and a parking session cost $5, the validation account will be debited $5 since parkers do not get to keep the remaining validation amount. (Only $5 is debited from the Merchants validation account).

Instructions

Set Up Merchant Validation

1. Select Manage Validations
2. Select New Validation
3. Complete all fields
   1. Validation Name
   2. Discount Amount: the discount provided per parking session
   3. Multi Use Validation
      1. Enable this option to create codes that can be redeemed by more than one customer
      2. Deselect this option if you will be creating unique, single-use codes
      3. Single Use validation codes can only be redeemed by one person on one transaction
         1. Example: If Parker A uses the single-use code “ABC123,” the code will not be available for use by another parker or on another transaction
      4. Multi Use validation codes can be redeemed once per customer, but the code will not be limited to the first customer
         1. Example: If Parker A uses the multi-use code “ABC123,” they will never be able to use that code again. However, Parker B could also use the code “ABC123” to validate one of their transactions.
   4. Stackable
      1. Stackable validations allow multiple validation codes from the same type to be redeemed on the same transaction. 
         1. Example: If Parker A receives five validation codes that each take $1 off their validation code, a stackable validation type would allow the customer to use all five codes on the same transaction.
      2. Note: If Parker A receives five validations, each for $1 off, that were not stackable, the parker would be required to redeem all their validation codes in five different parking sessions.
      3. Note: Enable this option to permit multiple codes to be redeemed on one transaction
   5. Active On
      1. Enter the date that this code will become active
   6. Never expires
      1. If this option is not selected, this validation code with never expire
      2. To set an expiration date for this code, remove the check, then enter the expiration information
      3. Note: This date must occur within 365 days of the date that the code has been generated
      4. Note: Since this setting makes it difficult to change the expiration date/time for codes that have already been generated, this option should be avoided in most scenarios.
      5. Note: If you are a private label client with your own branded validation portal, you can use this feature to limit which zones a validation can be used
      6. Note: If you are using the base application and would like to request validation codes from Passport as a promotional offer, you should restrict validation codes so they will only be used in zones for your operator. This prevents any codes from being distributed and being redeemed in  zones outside your operation.
   7. Advanced Settings
      1. Select Zones: enable so a parker can only redeem the code within specific zones
      2. Select Users: enable so only specific users can redeem the code
4. Select Create

Manage an Existing Validation

1. Select Manage Validations
2. Select the Validation
3. Select Edit
4. Adjust fields as desired
5. Select Update

Generate Merchant Validation Codes

Validation codes can be randomly generated or customized.

Generate Random Codes

1. Select Generate Validation Codes
2. Complete the fields
   1. Select Validation 
   2. Number of Validations: Enter the number of Validation Codes you need
3. Select Generate Validation Code
4. Select Download as PDF

Generate Custom Codes

1. Select Create Custom Code
2. Complete the fields
   1. Select Validation 
   2. Custom Code: Enter custom code
      1. Note: The Custom Code limit is 15 characters
3. Select Create Custom Code