IPS Group Selected as Next Mobile Payment Provider

3/27/2026

City of Cincinnati Parking Division is pleased to announce that after a thorough an open RFP (request for proposals) process, IPS Group Inc. has been selected as the next mobile payment provider for all on-street parking transactions!  The city first offered mobile payments via app with current provider Passport Inc. in 2018.  In 2020, the city added Pay by Phone Inc. as a secondary platform.  Both apps are unified and operate under the “Cincy EzPark” operating environment that the Parking Division established as its’ public facing brand.  Since their combined launches in the city, there are approximately 1.4 million annual mobile transactions for paid on-street parking, representing 60-70% of all parking payments.

The city’s current contracts with both Passport and Pay by Phone are set to expire on Feb 28, 2027.  Prior to that date, the city will begin an information campaign to assist the roughly 650,000 users of both Passport and Pay by Phone mobile apps with detailed instructions how to download and setup their new accounts for parking within the city with the IPS Group app “Park Smarter”.  Partner municipalities and operators that are currently using Cincy EzPark branding will be making their own plans and communicating them to accommodate the shuttering of Cincy EzPark as a payment application and portal.

Work is set to begin in early April with the massive task of creating a new comprehensive on-street parking space inventory as well as remapping all spaces.  We will be releasing more information in the coming weeks and look forward to building a new easier to use parking system.