In-car payments by your fingerprint: Daimler Mobility and Visa form global technology partnership

Using your car as a payment device may sound odd, but it will be happening very soon. From spring 2022, Visa’s technology will allow Mercedes-Benz customers to use in-car payments to purchase goods and services. 

The United Kingdom and Germany will be the first countries in Europe to benefit from the new feature that Daimler Mobility and Visa are introducing. The two corporations have formed a global technology partnership to integrate digital commerce into cars.

Vehicles will be altered to become biometrically enabled payment devices and replace the existing payment methods, thanks to Visa’s Delegated Authentication technology. This has been announced by the two companies on November 8.

Payment with your Fingerprint

“There is nothing more convenient than authorising a payment with your fingerprint. A luxury customer experience of course includes the aspect of safety, and we fulfil that through native in-car payment. We offer our customers security not only when driving, but also when paying”, said Franz Reiner, Chief Executive Officer, Daimler Mobility.

Customers will be able to pay for fuelling and parking services or make other purchases by directly using the car’s head unit or MBUX. As in-car shopping has evolved into an important part of the luxury experience being offered to clients, the new feature is expected to be introduced in markets throughout the world in the future.

Antony Cahill, Deputy CEO and Head of European Markets, at Visa in Europe shared that they are excited to bring to life a native solution for in-car payments that will be first of a kind.

“It is significant that both the successful pilot testing and initial launch activities are taking place in Europe, a world-leading hub for payments and automotive innovation. This is a powerful example of how the world’s leader in digital payments and the inventor of the automobile are able to combine their technologies to create the next generation of smart solutions for the automobility sector, providing the driver and passengers with a completely new in-car connected commerce experience.”

Franz Reiner, Chief Executive Officer, Daimler Mobility:

“Mercedes pay is our competence centre for in-car payment, through which we offer our customers worldwide digital services seamlessly integrated within the Mercedes-Benz ecosystem. In partnership with Visa, Daimler aims to offer native in-car payments that meet the requirements of two-factor authentication in a secure and user-friendly way.”

The technology

Mercedes pay is a component of Daimler Mobility and also a part of Daimler’s mobility and digitisation strategy. The company will be the first car manufacturer in the world to use the Visa Cloud Token Framework in its vehicles.

Visa’s Cloud Token Framework is a cloud-based security system that enables greater flexibility across numerous devices by transforming and securely storing important payment information.

It will be possible for numerous devices to be paired in and out of the car, with the consumer’s bank credentials being immediately integrated.

Entering long card numbers to authorise a purchase when switching devices will be a thing of the past as the partners aim to improve the overall payment experience. The solution will be used to initiate a two-factor authentication.

Promising future

The number of connected cars is expected to rise to more than 352 million in the next two years, and the total volume of in-car payments is predicted to hit $86 billion by 2025.

The demand for innovative payment methods within the vehicle is expanding as a result of mobility trends such as electric automobiles, car sharing, autonomous driving, and connected cars.

Many car-related services now require the drivers to log onto an app or website using a separate device. The goal of Daimler and Visa is to provide users with a hassle-free payment experience while also improving the variety and quality of experiences available to them.