Mercedes-Benz Puts Parking Payments in the Dashboard

Finding and paying for parking can be a hassle, but Mercedes-Benz, the German automaker, is hoping its new in-car parking payment service can help with that.

Newly released as part of the MBUX infotainment system in eligible U.S. Mercedes-Benz vehicles, the parking service enables motorists to find off-street parking and reserve a spot in the MBUX system. They can select check-in and check-out times, Mercedes-Benz says, and view the total cost and confirm their booking.

Then, the user is sent a QR code to scan when arriving at the car park to gain entry. Payment processing is handled automatically by Mercedes pay, the manufacturer’s payment platform. Eligible U.S. Mercedes-Benz models must have the MBUX infotainment system and on-board navigation installed. Parkopedia, a London-based parking-payments service, is working with Mercedes-Benz on the service.

“This new feature addresses a major customer pain point, parking, and we’re going to make that experience a lot easier for Mercedes-Benz customers,” Jana Breitkopf, Mercedes Pay USA managing director and chief executive, said in a statement.

The in-car parking-payment service is one element of Mercedes-Benz’s broader payment service. In March, it announced it would incorporate Visa Inc.’s Delegated Authentication and Cloud Token Framework into Mercedes pay+, an in-car service that uses a fingerprint sensor in the dash to authorize transactions. Though initially a Europe-only feature, the biometric in-car payment capability is set to be available on U.S. models, but Mercedes-Benz would not say when.