Vancouver’s PayByPhone to be acquired by U.S. equity firm

B.C.'s PayByPhone sold

Photo: Chung Chow, BIV.

Vancouver-based PayByPhone changes hands for the third time, now headed to U.S. private equity firm Lightyear Capital.

Vancouver-based mobile parking payments platform PayByPhone is set to change hands, again.

Lightyear Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, announced Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire the company from current owner Corpay Inc. (NYSE: CPAY).

Jonny Combe, president and CEO of PayByPhone, said in a statement that this deal will help the company’s long-term strategy to evolve beyond parking into “wider mobility payments.”

“We believe [PayByPhone] is poised for continued growth given its strong established user base, high customer retention rates and product-led technology,” Michal Petrzela, partner of Lightyear, which has more than US$7 billion in assets under management, said in a Wednesday statement.

“We are excited to leverage our extensive expertise in software and payments to accelerate PayByPhone’s growth.”

The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. PayByPhone said it will operate as a stand-alone independent business under Lightyear’s ownership.

Founded in 2001, PayByPhone now provides digital parking payments to more than 1,300 clients across North America, the U.K., France, Germany and Switzerland, with more than 110 million drivers worldwide having downloaded the app, according to the company.

In 2016, Germany-based Volkswagen’s financial services arm acquired PayByPhone. It was later acquired in 2023 by U.S.-based Fleetcor Technologies Inc., a global business payments company that rebranded as Corpay Inc. in 2024.