PayByPhone is the oldest mobile parking-payment platform still operating. The company launched in Vancouver, BC in 1999 — at a moment when paying for parking with a cell phone meant dialing a 1-800 number from a flip phone — and has been continuously expanding ever since. As of mid-2024 it reports active service in more than 1,000 cities globally, with around 500 of those in North America and the rest in Europe and the UK. The platform was acquired by Volkswagen Financial Services in 2017, which is a piece of context most drivers don’t know but that explains some of the recent product direction.

This is a working-driver review. We’ve used PayByPhone in Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, several Bay Area suburbs, and across multiple UK cities. The app is genuinely solid, and in some markets it’s the only practical option. It’s also a different kind of product than ParkMobile, which is the most useful frame for understanding when to use which.

What PayByPhone is, in plain terms

PayByPhone is a mobile parking-payment platform with three driver-facing channels: a smartphone app (iOS and Android), a web portal at paybyphone.com, and a voice IVR. The voice channel is the original product — and explains the company name — but the app is now how most users interact with the platform.

Mechanically, PayByPhone works like every other zone-based parking app. The driver opens the app, enters or confirms a four- or five-digit location number (PayByPhone’s term for what other platforms call a zone number), picks a duration, confirms payment. Enforcement officers query the platform’s database via API to verify active sessions against license plates.

What makes PayByPhone distinctive isn’t the app mechanics — those are the same as ParkMobile or Passport — but the multi-channel design. The app, the web portal, and the voice line all draw from the same account. A driver can start a session by voice from a borrowed phone, extend it from the app on their own phone, and end it from the web portal at the office. The session is one record.

Where PayByPhone is the official platform

PayByPhone dominates the West Coast and Canadian markets in particular. As of mid-2024, the cities where PayByPhone is either the sole official platform or one of the dominant providers include:

  • Vancouver, BC — PayByPhone is the official on-street platform (the company’s home market since 1999)
  • Seattle — PayByPhone is the official on-street platform, replacing earlier providers
  • San Francisco — PayByPhone is widely accepted alongside SFMTA’s other payment channels
  • Miami — PayByPhone is the city’s primary mobile payment platform
  • Boston — PayByPhone is accepted but ParkBoston is the city-branded app
  • London, UK — PayByPhone is the largest single platform in London boroughs
  • Paris, France — PayByPhone operates extensively
  • Most major UK cities — Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham

For North American drivers, the most relevant fact is: PayByPhone is the West Coast counterpart to ParkMobile’s East Coast/Midwest dominance. Drivers who travel across the country tend to need both installed.

For more on which platform handles which city, see the ParkMobile complete guide and our companion guide for San Francisco parking payment.

The fee structure

PayByPhone charges a per-session transaction fee similar to other platforms. As of mid-2024, the standard fee in unsubsidized North American markets is around $0.30 per session, though city-negotiated contracts can lower the fee or eliminate it. The fee is disclosed during the payment flow before you confirm.

A few specifics:

  • Premium membership — PayByPhone offers a “PayByPhone Plus” subscription (pricing varies by market; typically around $0.99/month or roughly $10/year in some markets) that waives the per-session fee. The math works in favor of Plus at roughly 30+ sessions per year in markets where the standard fee is $0.30.
  • Credit card vs PayPal vs Apple/Google Pay — fees are the same across payment methods. PayByPhone accepts all major credit cards plus PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
  • Voice channel fees — the voice IVR sometimes carries a slightly higher fee than the app in the same market (a few cents) because the IVR is more expensive per session for the platform to operate.

PayByPhone has historically had lower per-session fees than ParkMobile in markets where the two compete head-to-head. Whether that pricing advantage persists going forward depends on city contract structures.

Setup and first-session walkthrough

A first-time PayByPhone setup typically takes three to four minutes:

  1. Install the app from iOS App Store or Google Play (the app is free).
  2. Create an account. Required fields: mobile phone number (for SMS verification), email, password.
  3. Verify your phone. PayByPhone sends a six-digit code; you enter it in the app.
  4. Add a vehicle. License plate, plate state/province, vehicle type. You can add multiple vehicles.
  5. Add payment method. Credit/debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
  6. Start a session. Enter the location number from the meter, choose duration, confirm.

The first session is the longest because of the setup overhead. After that, sessions are about thirty seconds from app open to confirmation, faster if Apple Pay or Google Pay is the default.

What PayByPhone does well

Five things genuinely work in PayByPhone’s favor:

  • Multi-channel design. The voice fallback is genuinely useful. If your phone dies, your account is locked, or the app’s API is timing out, the voice line is on different infrastructure and usually still works.
  • Lower fees in many markets. PayByPhone’s $0.30 standard fee runs lower than ParkMobile’s $0.45 in some markets.
  • International coverage. If you travel to the UK or continental Europe, PayByPhone is one of very few apps that works without re-creating an account in each city.
  • Multi-vehicle handling. Adding a vehicle and switching between them is well-implemented.
  • Push notifications. Session-expiring reminders are reliable in our testing across both iOS and Android.

Where PayByPhone falls down

In fairness:

  • Smaller US footprint than ParkMobile. PayByPhone is dominant on the West Coast and selected eastern markets, but ParkMobile covers more US cities overall. If you primarily drive in the eastern US, ParkMobile is more useful.
  • PayPal occasionally has a friction layer. When a PayPal-funded session is denied (PayPal authorization failure, payment method expired), the in-app error message is not always clear.
  • UI is more dense than ParkMobile. PayByPhone shows more options on the start-session screen (account, vehicle, location, duration, payment method, fees), which is informative but slower than ParkMobile’s minimalist flow.
  • Multi-account confusion. Drivers who travel internationally sometimes end up with two separate PayByPhone accounts (one for their home country, one created from a different IP). The platform supports moving sessions between accounts but it’s a manual process.

How PayByPhone compares to alternatives

For drivers deciding which app to install before a trip:

  • vs. ParkMobile — Geographic complement. ParkMobile covers more US cities; PayByPhone covers more West Coast and international cities. Install both.
  • vs. Passport Parking — Passport is dominant in some mid-size US cities (Tampa, Boulder, Greensboro). Some overlap with PayByPhone in those markets but mostly different geography.
  • vs. SpotHero — Different category entirely. SpotHero is for reserving a garage space in advance, not for paying a curbside meter. The two apps don’t compete.

For a deeper compare, see our SpotHero vs ParkMobile breakdown. For more on PayByPhone’s company history — including the Vancouver origin, the Volkswagen Financial Services acquisition, and how the platform evolved over the years — see our PayByPhone company history article.

What operators see (and why it matters to drivers)

From the parking-operator perspective at Parking Professional, PayByPhone is one of the more stable platforms to contract with. The company’s long operational history means most of the platform’s edge cases are handled — different jurisdiction tax rules, multi-currency billing for cross-border drivers, integration with major enforcement-handheld vendors. Cities that pick PayByPhone tend to stay with PayByPhone for multiple contract renewals.

For drivers, the practical implication is that PayByPhone deployments tend to be reliable. If a PayByPhone city says PayByPhone is the official platform, it’s likely to remain the official platform across multiple contract cycles. That stability is one reason West Coast drivers can rely on the app across multiple cities without checking each one separately.

Practical tips

  • Install PayByPhone if you’re traveling to Vancouver, Seattle, SF, Miami, or anywhere in the UK. The app is the only practical option in some of those markets.
  • Use Apple Pay or Google Pay as the default payment. Faster than entering a card.
  • Add all your vehicles up front. Switching is one tap once they’re added; adding mid-session is friction.
  • Save the voice line in your contacts. PayByPhone’s voice IVR has saved more than one parking session for us when the app misbehaved.
  • PayByPhone Plus pays off above ~30 sessions/year at the $0.30 standard fee. Check your session history in the app.

FAQ

Is PayByPhone free?

The app is free to install and use, but each parking session in unsubsidized markets includes a transaction fee — typically around $0.30. A PayByPhone Plus subscription (where available) waives the per-session fee.

Which cities use PayByPhone?

PayByPhone is the official on-street platform in Vancouver BC, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami, London UK, Paris, and dozens of other major North American and European cities. The platform reports more than 1,000 cities globally.

Does PayByPhone work in the UK?

Yes — PayByPhone is one of the largest mobile-parking platforms in the UK, including most of London and major cities across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Your US account works in the UK, though you may want to set the app’s default currency.

Can I use PayByPhone without a smartphone?

Yes — the voice IVR (PayByPhone’s original 1999 product) is still operational. Call the published number on the meter, identify your account, and start a session. The companion article on how pay-by-phone parking actually works walks through the voice flow in detail.

What happened in 2017 with Volkswagen?

PayByPhone was acquired by Volkswagen Financial Services in 2017. The acquisition added capital and global expansion resources; the platform has retained its product direction and brand. The Vancouver headquarters remains the primary operations center.

Does PayByPhone share a database with ParkMobile?

No. PayByPhone and ParkMobile are separate platforms with separate databases. Cities choose one or the other (or occasionally both) as their official platform. Sessions started in PayByPhone are not visible to ParkMobile and vice versa.

How do I cancel a PayByPhone session early?

Open the active session in the app and tap “End session.” In most cities you don’t get a refund for unused time — the session just stops. Some cities offer partial refunds for sessions ended early; the app shows whether your city does.