Mercedes-Benz customers in Germany are now able to authenticate payments via an in-car fingerprint sensor.
Mercedes pay+: In-car payment
Mercedes bought PayCash Europe back in 2017 with the intent on launching in-car payments. With the new Mercedes pay+, the vehicle itself now enables biometric two-factor authentication in conjunction with a fingerprint sensor.
This means it is no longer necessary to type in a PIN on the MBUX infotainment system or to use an additional mobile device such as a smartphone to verify a payment in the car. Instead, the car acts as a payment device.
The first Mercedes-Benz models available with fingerprint sensors are the EQS and EQE series, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and C-Class, and the new GLC. Mercedes-Benz is the first car manufacturer worldwide to integrate Visa‘s Delegated Authentication and Cloud Token Framework technology to enable native in-car payments.
Visa Cloud Tokens provide an additional layer of security as they help to protect and encrypt sensitive payment information by converting data and storing it securely.
Mercedes pay+
Customers can use native in-car payment to pay for digital services that allow a more convenient and entertaining driving experience.
They can activate and subscribe to these digital services from the car’s MBUX infotainment system and authorise the payment transaction with their fingerprint.
Examples of these digital services are connectivity apps that control comfort functions of the car, such as pre-air conditioning of the vehicle via a mobile device.
Upgrades to the vehicle software can easily be activated and paid for via fingerprint, like advanced navigation services that provide information on the weather or available parking spaces at customer’s destination.
In addition, the Mercedes me Store offers the ability to unlock pre-installed hardware components easily on-demand by fingerprint in the car.
For example, a vehicle owner can subscribe to the Remote Parking Assist, a service to park the vehicle remotely with a smartphone, or activate and pay for the Adaptive Highbeam Assist or the Rear Axle Steering with larger steering angle with only one touch.
Mercedes pay+ in other European markets in 2023
The option of native in-car payments will be expanded to other car-related services, such as fuelling.
Mercedes-Benz drivers in Germany and other markets can already pay for fuelling directly from the car via the Mercedes me app and a smartphone or via the MBUX infotainment system using a PIN.
Mercedes-Benz already offers payment for charging of electric vehicles for years via the Mercedes me connect service Mercedes me Charge.
At the charging station, authentication takes place via the display in the MBUX multimedia system, the Mercedes me App, the Mercedes me Charge card or directly via Plug & Charge.
In future Mercedes-Benz Leasing Deutschland will enable money transfers in the Mercedes-Benz ecosystem for the German market as a licensed entity, including payments made in the car.
In-car payments to exceed 4.7 billion
A recent study revealed that the global transaction volume of in-car payments will be expected to reach more than 4.7 billion by 2026.
Paying for fuel will be the most common use for in-vehicle payments over the next five years; accounting for around 48% of total in-vehicle payment transactions by volume.
This growth is regarded as the next step in a natural progress of payment methods regarding fuel purchases, which evolved from cash to card, then to smartphone payments, and now to in-car payments.
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