Mercedes-Benz and Visa Roll Out In-Car Payments in Germany

Mercedes-Benz has begun using Visa technology to enable native in-car payments.

With Mercedes pay+, which is being rolled out on select new vehicle models beginning this month, the automaker’s customers in Germany can now pay for digital services and on-demand hardware upgrades in the Mercedes me Store — the company’s shop for connected car services — via a fingerprint sensor mounted in the car, Mercedes-Benz said in a Monday (March 6) press release.

“As such, we are creating a completely new, enhanced customer experience,” Mercedes-Benz Mobility CEO Franz Reiner said in the release. “By introducing native eCommerce into the car, we are once again pioneers and at the beginning of a promising development.”

Mercedes pay+ is powered by Visa’s Delegated Authentication and Visa Cloud Token Framework technology, which converts data and stores it securely, according to the press release.

Following the rollout of this initial functionality for customers in Germany, the in-car payment by fingerprint technology will be extended to fueling and other services and to other European markets later in 2023, the release said.

“Innovating with partners, Visa can unlock the possibilities that connected devices might bring to commerce,” Albrecht Kiel, regional managing director of Central Europe at Visa, said in the release. “Making your car a secure and fully authenticated payment device brings new ways to enhance journeys and looking ahead, we can imagine many moments where in-car payments could smoothen the driver experience.”

PYMNTS research has found that as the number of connected vehicles on the road continues to grow, developers are producing tools that serve a variety of use cases for consumers, commercial drivers and fleet managers alike.

“Connected cars will drive the transformation of global wireless data networks to more sophisticated and personalized experiences,” Tatia Adams Fox, vice president and general manager of the Travel and Entertainment National Client Group at American Express, said when interviewed for “Reshaping Global Business with Connected Vehicles,” a PYMNTS and American Express collaboration.

“They will also drive B2B and B2C businesses to aggressively invest in innovative connected vehicle technologies as well as market and consumer data that inevitably create new revenue streams,” Fox said at the time.