From: http://www.bizjournals.com/

A new partnership with a Boston-based startup will allow people to pay their city of Boston parking tickets using their smartphones.

The city announced the partnership on Tuesday with TicketZen, a company created by Boston-based software design firm Terrible Labs. The service is the result of a request for proposals issued by the city, which invited organizations to propose a mobile parking ticket payment solution for city-issued parking tickets.

The partnership is between the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Boston Transportation Department and TicketZen.

For a three-month pilot period, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23, a reference to the mobile app TicketZen will be featured at the bottom of every computer-generated parking ticket issued by the Boston Transportation Department and will guide those with parking tickets through this new option for making payments, according to the city.

“The city of Boston continues to innovate around customer service,” said Mayor Marty Walsh in a statement. “Implementing new technology that makes the unpleasant chore of paying a parking ticket more efficient and effective, makes life in the city easier. I’m pleased that we were able to partner with a local tech company to get this app done.”

TicketZen, a smartphone app available for both Android and Apple devices, utilizes the smartphone camera to scan the barcode on a parking ticket and connect the user’s payment details with the city of Boston’s payment network.

In addition, by prompting users to make timely payments, it helps them to avoid late fees that are routinely added to the original fine after 21 days. During the pilot period, the TicketZen service will be provided at no cost to Boston users beyond the standard credit card processing fee associated with the city’s payment portal.