No, no, you are not dreaming, this is not a misleading advertisement. You read it right, no need to take out your bank card or your smartphone. According to the latest Mercedes press release, it will soon be possible to pay for various services directly from the passenger compartment. Gasoline, recharging stations, parking… Zoom on this promising advance, Mercedes Pay+, which signs the premises of a new era…
Where only the fingerprint will suffice…
While payment habits are constantly evolving, Mercedes-Benz has just taken a new step. After having recently signed a strategic partnership with Google, the German carmaker has now joined forces with the giant Visa to offer a brand new in-car payment service. Called Mercedes Pay+, the service has been integrated into its MBUX multimedia infotainment system since early March.
Mercedes-Benz becomes a software-driven company that provides a digital, seamless experience to customers. Therefore, our digital services have to be intuitive, convenient and secure. This is why we have established Mercedes pay+ as a modern and secure payment solution. As such, we are creating a completely new, enhanced customer experience
Franz Reiner, CEO at Mercedes-Benz Mobility
The principle is revolutionary. To offer drivers the possibility to pay for various services or hardware upgrades on the Mercedes me Store. The only condition is that the customer has an eligible Visa bank card. A means of payment that can then be associated with their Mercedes Me account. A native e-commerce service that relies on a biometric sensor, coupled with Visa Delegated Authentication and Visa Cloud Token Framework technologies, enabling Mercedes to guarantee secure and frictionless payments. No need to enter a PIN code or use a mobile authentication service to validate the transaction.
Only available in one country for the moment
Although available for a few days, this payment service is so far only offered in Germany. However, as announced by Franz Reiner, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Mobility, the German manufacturer is “only at the beginning of a promising development”. According to Caradisiac, it seems that Mercedes Pay+ will be extended to other European countries in the course of 2023.
A trend was confirmed by an interesting study conducted by Juniper. Indeed, within three years, the global transaction volume for in-vehicle payments is expected to reach ‘4.7 billion dollars. A figure that amounted to only 87 million in 2021.
An explosion that could be explained by an expansion of the services offered. Gas, music, videos, tolls… And, we can easily imagine the regulation of other additional services, encouraging car manufacturers to advocate more sustainable mobility. Imagine being able to offer your customer to pay for a parking space, a bus ticket, a bike rental, a train ticket… All of this from the comfort of their car, from a single application. The ultimate in-car experience, right? Well, in confidence, it’s far from impossible…
