Η Volkswagen Financial Services, ο χρηματοδοτικός βραχίονας της Volkswagen, ανακοίνωσε πως εξαγόρασε την PayByPhone, μια καναδική εφαρμογή πληρωμών με κινητές συσκευές για parking που επεξεργάζεται ετησίως συναλλαγές αξίας 300 εκατ. δολαρίων, έχοντας 12,5 εκατομμύρια εγγεγραμμένους χρήστες σε όλο τον κόσμο.
Πρόκειται για την πιο πρόσφατη κίνηση της εταιρίας που αυξάνει τις επενδύσεις, με την Volkswagen Financial Services να μην ανακοινώνει το ποσό που έδωσε για να εξαγοράσει την PayByPhone με έδρα το Βανκούβερ.
Η εφαρμογή επιτρέπει στον καταναλωτή να πληρώνει για θέσεις πάρκινγκ μέσω εφαρμογών, τηλεφωνημάτων ή γραπτών μηνυμάτων. Η PayByPhone, ιδρύθηκε το 2000 και η VW με την εξαγορά αυτή επιθυμεί να αποκτήσει πρόσβαση σε τεχνολογία που αποδεδειγμένα συνδέει μια ποικιλία εμπορικών ευκαιριών.
Επιπλέον, αν και είναι δύσκολο για την εταιρία να έχει περιθώριο κέρδους ακόμη και 10% από την πώληση ενός αυτοκινήτου, κάποιοι αναλυτές και στελέχη startups υποστηρίζουν ότι τα περιθώρια από άλλες υπηρεσίες μπορεί να αγγίξουν μέχρι και το 75%.
Σημειώνεται πως με την εξαγορά αυτή, η Volkswagen μπαίνει για τα καλά στην τεχνολογία του mobile, πεδίο δόξης λαμπρό για τις αυτοκινητοβιομηχανίες ανά τον κόσμο εντός του προσεχούς έτους.
Στις σχετικές ειδήσεις, η Volkswagen ανακοίνωσε πως θα προσλάβει περισσότερους από 1.000 IT μηχανικούς μέσα στα επόμενα τρία χρόνια, προκειμένου να εργαστούν πάνω στα μελλοντικά σχέδιά της, που περιλαμβάνουν τεχνολογία τεχνητής νοημοσύνης, εικονική πραγματικότητα, συνδεσιμότητα και έξυπνη παραγωγή.
Οι μισοί από τους νέους υπαλλήλους θα εργαστούν στα κεντρικά της Volkswagen στο Wolfsburg, αλλά και στα εργαστήρια πληροφορικής της εταιρίας σε Wolfsburg, Βερολίνο και Μόναχο.
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VANCOUVER, BC and BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY–(Marketwired – December 28, 2016) – Volkswagen Financial Services AG and PayByPhone today announced that the financial services division of Volkswagen Group has acquired PayByPhone, the world’s leading parking payment provider. The deal positions Volkswagen Financial Services AG as the clear leader in mobile payments and parking sectors, while providing the foundation for future PayByPhone growth globally and continued innovation.
As consumers look for easy-to-use mobile solutions that fit their increasingly digital lives, the PayByPhone acquisition signals a growing market for mobile-payment solutions. PayByPhone’s technology — the fastest way to pay for parking — will soon be available for millions more drivers across the globe. In 2016, PayByPhone has already processed more than $250 million in payments and is adding approximately 7,000 users per day to their already substantial base of more than 12.5 million registered users.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for PayByPhone to explore new ways to expand our mobile payments technology into different verticals, markets and use cases. The mobile payment movement has exploded recently, and we look forward to accelerating our consumer parking and payments agenda made possible by this deal,” said Kush Parikh, CEO of PayByPhone. “Volkswagen Financial Services AG has been at the forefront of innovation to fit its customers’ mobile lives, and we are honored to be a part of its global vision.”
The PayByPhone acquisition expands the Volkswagen Financial Services AG footprint in the mobile-payment solutions market, and positions the organization as the central service provider within the Volkswagen Group for the parking business. Volkswagen Financial Services AG has already acquired a 92 percent shareholding in Sunhill Technologies GmbH, the German market leader in mobile-parking solutions across 90 German cities.
“With the acquisition of PayByPhone, we are now the leading provider for the processing and mobile payment of parking. In the future, we will be bundling this know-how in a separate business field around the theme of parking,” said Dr. Christian Dahlheim, the management board member responsible for sales and marketing at Volkswagen Financial Services AG.
The acquisition will not affect any of PayByPhone’s current operations. In the near future, PayByPhone’s existing clients and customers can expect improved support, more services, and greater app functionality as the integration with Volkswagen Financial Services AG continues. The paybyphone app is available on iOS, Android, and all other mobile platforms via its web application and online presence. Drivers in thousands of locations worldwide can download the iOS or Android app here.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
From the gaming industry and top-level research: More than 1,000 international IT experts are to join Volkswagen
Wolfsburg, 28 December 2016
- Volkswagen Group expands IT know-how in future-oriented areas
- HR Board Member Blessing: “We are adding top people to team for digitalization.”
- CIO Hofmann: “Nowhere is IT more exciting than at Volkswagen!”
The Volkswagen Group is reinforcing its team with highly qualified IT specialists and strongly expanding its know-how in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data, virtual reality, smart production and connectivity. For these tasks, Volkswagen is increasingly recruiting highly qualified lateral entrants from a variety of high-tech sectors, the gaming industry and top-level research. In the next three years alone, the Group will be securing the services of more than 1,000 IT experts.
Dr. Karlheinz Blessing, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group responsible for Human Resources, says: “people who want to shape the future of mobility are coming to Volkswagen. We are tackling the major challenges of the future with the best people: digitalization, software development, E-mobility, autonomous driving and mobility services. For these fields, we are reinforcing our team with top-class experts.”
Over the next three years, the Volkswagen Group is recruiting more than 1,000 IT specialists; half of these people will be employed in Wolfsburg. They will work in the core IT organization at the company’s headquarters as well as in IT labs in Wolfsburg, Berlin and Munich. These labs are creating new solutions in the fields of big data, Industry 4.0, the Internet of things, connectivity, mobility services and virtual reality.
Dr. Martin Hofmann, CIO of the Volkswagen Group, says: “The tasks we face are more varied and interesting than ever before. In the global mobility group Volkswagen, IT means: international cooperation, versatile working in fast, creative teams and the most advanced technology. In brief: nowhere is IT more exciting than at Volkswagen.”
Over the past few months, Volkswagen Group IT has already recruited highly specialized lateral entrants from a variety of sectors and countries – including robotics experts, level designers, design thinking experts, and AI research workers. These new employees are working in units such as the Virtual Engineering Lab, the Data Lab, the Smart Production Lab, the Ideation Hub or Group IT in Wolfsburg.
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