The Canadian Parking Association has announced that the city of Ottowa, Canada is planning to upgrade its parking meters with NFC technology.

Starting early 2012, drivers will be able to pay for their parking fees with just a tap of an NFC enabled handset against the meter. The new system will also allow users to refresh their parking time via phone or Internet, rather than having to dash out to the meter.

According to the CPA, Ottowa’s parking meters already accept credit cards, thanks to a roll out of new “pay and display” machines in 2010.

Credit card payment has proven to be popular with drivers, accounting for 40% of all revenue collected from the machines, reports the CPA. City officials expect that number to increase with the addition of NFC technology.

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