Mercedes-Benz extends its on-board payment solution to include parking

After inaugurating its Mercedes Pay solution in 2019, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services continues to expand the use cases for its payment solution. After paying for fuel, it can now be used to pay for parking, thanks to a partnership with Parkopedia.

FACTS

• The new in-car feature is available on all Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with the MBUX infotainment system and in-car navigation in the USA.

• It enables the driver to identify available parking spaces and make reservations directly via the vehicle's infotainment system. 

• The driver selects arrival and departure times, can view the total cost of parking and confirm the reservation. They then receive a QR code to scan on arrival to enter the parking lot.

• Parkopedia, one of the leading providers of parking services in the United States, is Mercedes' partner in this new launch, providing the location and parking data that activate this functionality.

CHALLENGES 

• Digitizing parking payment: this functionality simplifies the payment stage by leveraging digital technology; there's no need to search for a parking meter or change, or download an additional application to pay for parking. The experience is now simplified and centralized within MBUX.

• Enhancing the invisible payment experience of the MBUX ecosystem: Mercedes Pay makes paying for parking more flexible and invisible. The driver simply concentrates on driving, and payments are made automatically via the in-car MBUX system or the Mercedes me Connect application. It's an experience similar to that offered by VTC or other mobility apps, which rely on the use of a wallet to make the payment step frictionless. By signing this new partnership, Mercedes is further enriching its ecosystem and extending the possible uses of its payment solution.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• According to Juniper Research, by 2026, 4.7 billion in-vehicle payment transactions are expected worldwide.

• Finally, it's worth noting that payment for filling up the tank (or recharging for EVs) has been the subject of numerous innovations designed to simplify the payment process. This is the case, for example, of the voice-activated payment for recharging with Alexa, recently proposed by EVgo.

• Mercedes has long been working on simplifying the payment stage with a wallet. Its first pilots followed the acquisition of German mobile payment solution PayCash in 2017. Most recently, Mercedes announced the introduction of biometric payment validation in its vehicles.