WOLFSBURG, Germany–Volkswagen is apparently moving toward an in-car payments solution. The company has acquired PayByPhone, a Canadian mobile payments company, for an undisclosed amount.
PayByPhone allows customers to use mobile apps, as well as calls and texts, to pay for parking spaces in select cities, including Boston, San Francisco, and London, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company has 12.5 million users and processes more $300 million in volume annually. Acquiring PayByPhone could help Volkswagen become more of a mobility company in addition to an auto manufacturer, according to Businessinsider.com.
“The acquisition could give Volkswagen access to key technology as demand for in-car payment capabilities is poised to rise,” BusinessInsider.com reported. “Connected cars are becoming more popular. BI Intelligence expects that 381 million connected cars will be on the road in 2021, up from 34 million in 2021. That could bring about demand for in-car payments, where customers use their car’s infotainment center or an affiliated mobile app to pay for a variety of goods or services — 20% of executives, for example, believe that people will pay for things through their cars within two years.”
According to the report, PayByPhone’s technology, which leverages existing mobile apps, could be something Volkswagen ultimately incorporates into its vehicles. Right now, PayByPhone is focused on parking payments — something that’s logical to incorporate into the car, because of the convenience that it could provide drivers, BusinessInsider said, adding the company’s CEO believes that parking is a “gateway” to other payment providers.