Carmaker Mercedes is working with the credit card company Mastercard to offer one-touch payment options from the dashboards of vehciles.

Mercedes pay+ is an in-car e-commerce platform that drivers can use to buy Mercedes-Benz products and services, and now through the partnership with Mastercard, 3,600 service stations in Germany, are accepting payment through customers using a fingerprint sensor in their car to pay for fuel. This eliminates the need to enter a PIN at the pump or authenticate via mobile device.

“For the first time,” Mastercard explains, “In-car payments will be possible at the point of sale — turning your dashboard into a convenient payment device.”

“We’re not just selling and maintaining cars; with our comprehensive Mercedes-Benz ecosystem, we make life easier for our customers,” explains Nico Kersten, CEO of Mercedes pay. “In this we bundle all areas related to the car. Digitalisation opens up completely new possibilities. For example, we offer them easier access to everyday services, like charging, parking and fueling through connectivity with third-party providers.”

Mr Kersten insists payment is secure, explaining: “We ensure that card data, for example, is saved securely, and we comply with all regulations regarding payment authentication. Europe has stringent rules for customer authentication, which protects the customer, but it is not designed to improve customer experience. That was the challenge we needed to overcome, and we worked with Mastercard to make the authentication experience easier. As a result of our collaboration, we can now offer biometric authentication in the car.”

(Picture – Mercedes/Mastercard)