Daimler buys payment company to develop ‘Mercedes Pay’

German car maker Daimler AG has acquired PayCash Europe SA as part of its plans for a broad range of new vehicle-related mobile payment services dubbed “Mercedes Pay," in the latest deal linking automobile manufacturers with payment providers.

Separately, Honda early this year announced plans with a trio of companies, including Visa, to facilitate vehicle-based payments, and GM earlier outlined plans to work with Mastercard and other technology providers to enable voice-controlled payments inside cars.

Daimler will incorporate PayCash’s eWallet technology into its financial subsidiary so consumers may pay for Daimler's various automotive products and services with a secure, convenient approach using their smartphones, the company said in a Jan. 16 press release.

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

“Mercedes Pay will mainly benefit customers who, in the future, will only need to provide their payment details one time, in order to be able to use a range of Daimler’s services," said Klaus Entenmann, Daimler Financial Services’ management board chairman, in the release.

Daimler plans to eventually incorporate Mercedes Pay into its fleet of 4 million leased vehicles, along with its car-sharing service car2go and the mytaxi app, which operates in nine European countries, for vehicle financing and other purchases, according to the release.

PayCash, founded in 2012, also offers cryptocurrency solutions, Daimler noted.