Mercedes Adds Biometric Payments to Five Models, Turning the Car into a Payment Device

Mercedes-Benz’s new Mercedes pay+ in-car payment service is coming to five models manufactured by the Germany-based luxury-car maker.

Though earlier efforts from a variety of car makers put in-car payments on the road, Mercedes-Benz is the first, with its Mercedes pay+ technology, to use Visa Inc.’s Delegated Authentication and Cloud Token Framework. The Delegated Authentication service enables an issuer to “delegate authority” to a third party, such as a wallet provider or merchant. Its Cloud Token Framework enables a connected device to become a secure channel for digital commerce. Mercedes-Benz announced in 2021 that it and Visa were working on a native in-car payment service that it had hoped to launch in 2022, Digital Transactions News reported then.

In Mercedes pay+, the technologies are integrated into the native in-car payment service, enabling the vehicle itself to provide  biometric two-factor authentication in conjunction with a fingerprint sensor. Earlier versions of in-car payment services relied on a user’s mobile phone as one element of the two-factor setup.

The first Mercedes models to have Mercedes pay+ are the EQS and EQE series, the S-Class, C-Class, and the GLC. The technology is only available in Germany for now, though the car maker intends to launch it in other European markets this year. A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson confirms Mercedes pay+ will come to its U.S. vehicles, but could not say when that will happen.

Currently, drivers with eligible Visa credit or debit cards can use the service by linking the card with their Mercedes me accounts and activating Mercedes pay+ in the vehicle. More card systems will be added later, Mercedes-Benz says.

Currently, customers in Germany can use the service to pay for digital services and on-demand hardware upgrades in the Mercedes me store. Examples include apps that control comfort functions and weather information along a route. Eventually, a fuel-payment capability and other features will be added. Motorists can use the store to pay for access to remote parking assist or adaptive high-beam headlight assist.