Coming to a Fiat Chrysler vehicle near you: ordering food and beverages while on the road. Drivers (eyes on the road, please) and passengers can find and pay for gas and parking, and also make dinner reservations. These mobile and pay services are not new but are a further expansion of the highly fragmented connected car market.
Currently, some GM vehicles have its branded Marketplace that enables in-car consumers to place orders with connected retailers, typically food, beverage, gas, and parking. Other auto companies are pairing with developers as well to integrate in-car ordering with the vehicle’s dash and infotainment systems.
The car is basically another mobile device so expect to see more examples of connect cars that will include mobile order and pay applications. One caveat is whether these systems will contribute to distracted driving. Enabling hands-free operation through voice commands could alleviate this concern.
An NFC World article discusses more on this topic which is excerpted below:
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicle owners will be able to use a new Fiat Chrysler mobile wallet to order and pay for a range of services from their vehicles “in the second half of 2019”. Launch partners include Shell, Domino’s, ParkWhiz and Yelp Reservations
The car maker’s Uconnect Market Commerce Platform will deploy “via an over-the-air (OTA) update for model-year 2019 and 2020 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brand vehicles equipped with connected services and the latest generation of 8.4-inch touchscreens,” Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) says.
The service will then “continue as a carryover feature for future models equipped with the 8.4-inch touchscreen”.
“FCA owners will be able to skip lines and save time by ordering (and paying for) food and beverages, reserve a table on the way to their favorite restaurant or locate and securely authorize pump-and-pay fuel at participating locations,” the car maker explains.
“Drivers can also locate and pay for nearby parking and schedule service appointments at FCA US dealerships, all while in the vehicle without having to reach for a physical credit card.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
