On-demand parking startup ParkWhiz has acquired a Tel-Aviv parking app that developed a drive-up mobile payment option, and the Chicago startup now plans to roll that feature out to its customers.
ParkWhiz announced Thursday that it has acquired CodiPark, a Tel-Aviv parking startup that built a feature that allows drivers to pay once they arrive at a parking garage by scanning their ticket. ParkWhiz users will now be able to drive up to a lot or garage, pull a ticket and pay by scanning it with their ParkWhiz app.
The move is all about making the process of finding and paying for parking more efficient, the company said. ParkWhiz compared its efforts in mobile pay to what Starbucks has done for coffee ordering---seamless payment without having to stand in line at a pay station or fumble around for cash or a credit card.
“CodiPark’s world-class technology and inspired engineering talent further enhances the ParkWhiz Platform by delivering more friction-free parking options to drivers and their vehicles,” Yona Shtern, CEO of ParkWhiz, said in a statement. “It will also reduce the burden on operators of handling cash and improve the flow in and out of their facilities."
ParkWhiz said CodiPark employees will join its team, and the deal will allow it to open an office in Tel-Aviv. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
ParkWhiz was founded in 2007 and has raised $57.5 million in venture capital to date. In March, the startup announced the hire of Shtern as its CEO. He replaced Aashish Dalal, ParkWhiz’s founder, who became chairman of the company’s board.
