Payment Capabilites Coming to More Cars
Research has found 60% of Americans made at least one contactless payment per week.
FCA US LLC. — the company that makes Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and other automobiles — has become the latest car manufacturer to launch an in-vehicle payments platform.
The company said its “Uconnect Market” will allow vehicle owners to enroll a credit card to pay for gas, food and parking from their cars’ touchscreens, according to a press release. Drivers can also schedule service appointments and make restaurant reservations with the platform.
“Our customers live busy lives, and our goal with the Uconnect platform is to provide an advanced portfolio of services to make their daily drive more convenient, productive and enjoyable,” FCA Global Head of Connected Services Alan D’Agostini said. “This is why we are launching Uconnect Market, as we continue to ramp-up our connectivity efforts around the world with the goal of having all new FCA vehicles connected by 2022.”
FCA said it planned to deploy the platform in the second half of this year via an over-the-air update for 2019 and 2020 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles that have connected services and 8.4-inch touchscreens. It will be a feature in future models with 8.4-inch touchscreens, the company noted.
Shell, Domino’s, ParkWhiz and Yelp Reservations are participants in the platform, FCA said.
FCA joins the growing list of car manufacturers jumping into the payments pool.
Recently, Honda showcased its new “Honda Dream Drive” prototype at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. That technology lets drivers pay for gas, parking, movie tickets and food, as well as make restaurant reservations, order food and share their locations. Passengers can use their mobile devices to play games, watch movies, stream music, read, use travel apps, control cabin features and perform other functions.
In 2017, Mercedes also announced its move to acquire electronic payment services provider PayCash Europe, which it planned to use to launch “Mercedes pay” in its Daimler Mobility Services subsidiary.
Additionally, in 2016 Mastercard partnered with General Motors and IBM to embed its Masterpass mobile payment technology into a new platform called OnStar Go — a car-based navigation, security and communications system. That combination allowed drivers to order food, pay for goods and services via Masterpass, and perform other functions.
Recent research from payments technology company Transaction Network Services found that 60% of Americans made at least one contactless payment per week.