Daimler Financial Services, the financial arm of The Daimler Group, has announced the acquisition of electronic payment services provider PayCash Europe. The details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Founded in 2012, PayCash Europe is a financial institution regulated by the Luxembourg banking authority with a license for electronic cash. It offers solutions for cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and eWallet systems, in addition to mobile payment services.

The Daimler Group is one of the leading producers of premium cars and provides financing, leasing, fleet management, insurance and innovative mobility services. Its business units include Mercedes-Benz cars and vans, Daimler trucks and buses and Daimler Financial Services.

According to the official release, Daimler AG will be launching its own electronic payment services provider under the “Mercedes pay” brand name. With this acquisition, PayCash Europe will become the electronic payment system for services provided by the Daimler Group under Mercedes pay.

Mercedes pay will be integrated into Daimler Mobility Services GmbH, a subsidiary of Daimler Financial Services, and incorporates a number of different mobility services, including the market leader in car-sharing, car2go, and the mytaxi taxi app, which operates in nine European countries.

"'Mercedes pay' is a fundamental component of our mobility and digitization strategy. Daimler's new payment system underscores our ambition, as a leading provider of digital mobility services, to make the products and services we offer even more appealing," said Bodo Uebber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Finance & Controlling and Daimler Financial Services.

In 2016, Daimler Financial Services AG had over four million financed vehicles in its portfolio. The company plans to use the new payment system to facilitate these and other financing transactions in the future.

"Our philosophy is to provide mobility at your fingertips. ‘Mercedes pay' allows our customers to easily and securely pay for our mobility offerings and services using their smartphones. “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. This is made possible by the eWallet function, a virtual source of payment”, Klaus Entenmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Financial Services AG stated.