Vancouver-based PayByPhone bought by Volkswagen Financial Services

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      Volkswagen has made a major move into the business of parking by purchasing the world's largest provider of parking payment services.

      Earlier today, its financial services subsidiary issued a news release stating that it bought Vancouver-based PayByPhone on December 23 from PayPoint plc.

      "For us, PayByPhone is the ideal addition to our portfolio because the company enables us to consistently expand our international presence in all areas relating to mobile parking management and digital payment solutions," Volkswagen Financial Services AG board member Christian Dahlheim said in the release. "Moreover, PayByPhone is highly innovative with excellent user-friendliness on all mobile devices."

      PayByPhone operates in the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Australia.

      According to the news release, the Vancouver company processed approximately 60 million transactions in 2016, worth approximately $340 million.

      “This is a tremendous opportunity for PayByPhone to explore new ways to expand our mobile payments technology into different verticals, markets and use cases," PayByPhone CEO Kush Parikh said in the news release. "The mobile payment movement has exploded recently, and we look forward to accelerating our consumer parking and payments agenda made possible by this dea;. Volkswagen Financial Services AG has been at the forefront of innovation to fit its customers’ mobile lives, and we are honoured to be a part of its global vision.”

      PayByPhone's system is available on a variety of mobile operating systems, including iOS, Android, and Blackberry. An alarm lets users know when their meter is about to expire, enabling them to extend their time with a few clicks on their smartphone.

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