8 Car Technologies Driving Mobile Payments
Published May 9, 2014 2:30 PM
|
Updated October 20, 2016 10:05 AM
1 Min Read
The car phone may be a relic of a bygone era, but more automobile and parking companies are looking for ways to put the mobile phone back in the driver's seat. And in many cases, payments are making the connection. (Image: ShutterStock )
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Park-Tap-Charge
General Motors' OnStar unveiled its Park-Tap-Charge system in 2012. The technology lets drivers of electric vehicles pay at charging stations using a phone with a Near Field Communication chip. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Guenter Schiffmann/Bloomberg
NFC Key
BMW envisions a payment-capable NFC car key. The key would communicate with the car's navigation system to use location data to aid in travel purchases, such as buying a hotel room at a motorist's destination. When the key is tapped against an NFC phone, it would show in a smartphone app where the car was last parked. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Luke Sharett/Bloomberg
Where's the Fire?
When ExxonMobil unveiled its SpeedPass+ mobile payment app last year in Nashville, Tenn., the company made a drastic change to its policies: its stations removed the warning decals that claimed using a cell phone while fueling up is a fire hazard. The FCC has found no evidence that cell phones can cause fires when used around flammable materials. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Warm Reception
Hughes Petroleum began using AJB Software Design's FIPay Mobile in Edmonton, Alberta a year ago. The technology allows motorists to stay in their cars while paying for fuel a welcome option during colder months. The app also stores digital receipts of past fuel purchases. (Image: ShutterStock )
Friendly with Facebook
Lit Motors, maker of the C-1 electric car, allows people to place a deposit on the egg-shaped, two-wheeled vehicle from their Facebook feeds because that's where most of its prospective customers spend their time online and on mobile devices. It uses Ribbon to accept payments. (Pictured: the C-1 electric car)
No Ticket
Parkeon is refining its parking payment system based on feedback from Rockville Centre, N.Y. , which piloted the technology last year. In the pilot, Parkeon's kiosks printed coupons for local merchants before printing the ticket motorists needed to place on their car, but this led to confusion. The updated system at Rockville Centre uses a mobile app instead of paper coupons and tickets. (Image: ShutterStock )
ParkChicago
Chicago's new ParkChicago system allows motorists to pay for street parking through a mobile app. Users provide a zone number and license plate number when they pay. The city plans to convert all 36,000 city meters by the end of the summer. (Image: ShutterStock )
Valet Parking
Flash Valet works with parking locations to replace paper-based valet services with an electronic system. An earlier version relied on text messages, and the company added a mobile app last year. (Image: ShutterStock )
Put It on My Bill
Sunhill Technologies, which provides a white-label mobile app for parking garages, recently partnered with Boku to allow motorists to add parking charges to their mobile phone bills. The system works through a mobile app or text messages. (Image: ShutterStock )
