If you used an app to pay a parking meter in Chicago in the last several years, you might soon receive money as part of a $9 million settlement — but the payout may not be exactly what you expected.

The plaintiffs in the now-approved settlement claimed the app ParkMobile, which operates pay-by-credit-card parking meters in nearly 400 U.S. cities including Chicago, is liable for a data security incident that occurred in 2021 and may have impacted some customers.

“ParkMobile previously has assured users that it can keep their information safe and that it uses industry standard data security measures to do so,” the suit said. “Contrary to its representations and promises, however, ParkMobile utilized inadequate data security measures it knew, or should have known, put the personal
and personal and sensitive data it solicited, collected, and stored at significant risk of theft by or exposure to nefarious parties.”

According to the suit, hackers accessed sensitive date from more than 21 million ParkMobile customers in March of 2021. A month later, ParkMobile acknowledged to customers a breach had taken place, the suit said.

As part of the suit, ParkMobile negotiated a settlement, the suit website said, with a claim deadline for eligible customers of March 5, 2025. ParkMobile denied all claims alleged against it, and denied all charges of wrongdoing, the suit said.

According to the settlement website, class members did not need to file a claim in order to be included, but those that did were entitled to a cash payout of up to $25.

Those that didn’t still got a piece of the pie — in the form of a $1.00 credit towards ParkMobile’s service fees.

“No court ever found ParkMobile liable for anything; rather, this settlement was reached to allow the company to continue focusing on providing excellent service to its customers,” the email said.

According to the email, eligible customers were sent notices by ParkMobile of the security incident in 2021. Those who did not elect to move forward and file a claim were automatically entitled to a $1 credit, in the form of four $.025 discounts on the app’s service fees.

Customers can redeem the discount by adding a unique code to their ParkMobile app, which expires Oct. 6, 2026, the email said.