Credit card company giant Mastercard has partnered with vehicle brand Mercedes-Benz to allow drivers to make in-car purchases with fingerprint-reading technology on the dashboard.
This is part of the car manufacturer’s Mercedes pay+, a service that has technically existed since 2018, but did not have the biometric integration at the time. The app allowed owners to make direct payments to Mercedes, and unlock and purchase add-ons for the car.
Mercedes has already begun to offer fingerprint and facial recognition to facilitate digital ID profiles since last year, as noted by The WinePress in a report. Also, the vehicle brand earlier announced that they will be offering subscription tiers for drivers to access other features prebuilt into the car, such as added horsepower they call “Acceleration On-Demand Upgrade,” The WP reported as well.
This adaptation courtesy of Mastercard builds on this technology and now allows drivers to pay for things like gas from the comfort of their own seat.
According to a blogpost on Mastercard’s website, the company writes:
Unless you learned to drive within the past few years, you probably remember digging around in the cupholder for coins to feed the parking meter or hanging out the window to slide cash in the slot of a parking garage payment booth. Recent advances in digital payment technology have made those payments easier. Now you can just tap on the infotainment display in the car to reserve or pay for parking.
Starting with 3,600 service stations in Germany, customers will be able to use a fingerprint sensor in their car to pay for fuel, eliminating the need to enter a PIN at the pump or authenticate via mobile device.
For the first time, in-car payments will be possible at the point of sale — turning your dashboard into a convenient payment device.
Mastercard explains how the process works in their formal press release:
When a driver reaches a connected service station and switches off the engine, the Mercedes me Fuel & Pay service will start automatically on the MBUX infotainment system.
Once started, the driver can simply select the appropriate gas pump. Even before refueling, the system will calculate the maximum total amount based on the current fuel price and the amount of fuel when the tank is full. And, rather than authorizing the payment via a mobile device, the driver will complete their transaction seamlessly through fingerprint authentication.
After refueling, the driver will see the amount of fuel refueled and the invoice amount to their Mastercard debit or credit cards on the MBUX display. Payment will be made automatically, and the driver will be able to leave the gas station without having to walk to the checkout area. The invoice is then sent to the customer by e-mail.
Nico Kersten, CEO of Mercedes pay+, sat down with Mastercard to give his additional thoughts on this transition. He explained that the automotive industry has completely evolved into something else besides providing a reliable vehicle. He said:
We’re not just selling and maintaining cars; with our comprehensive Mercedes-Benz ecosystem, we make life easier for our customers. In this we bundle all areas related to the car. Digitalization opens up completely new possibilities.
As a result of our collaboration [with Mastercard], we can now offer biometric authentication in the car.
I’m optimistic, because our offerings to the customer are expanding, with cool services that will quickly become part of the customer’s daily life.
Last month I was in the Netherlands. I drove into a parking lot and a message popped up on the dashboard screen: “Do you want to pay for parking?” It was that easy. The more you experience that, the more you don’t want to do without it.
He added, “We’re working hard to keep giving our customers the most valuable gift: their own time,” answering a question about the future self-driving and autonomous cars and how Mercedes is innovating.
Franz Reiner, Chairman of the Board of Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG, also weighed-in, saying, “We are pioneers in native in-car payment and are already working on the integration of further services.”
Jorn Lambert, Chief Digital Officer at Mastercard, added in a statement:
Digital payments are coming of age, and consumers want to embrace new forms that are infused into their everyday experiences and activities.
Through our dynamic payments technology, we are proud to work hand in hand with Mercedes-Benz to bring safer, smarter, and more intelligent commerce experiences to its vehicles. We look forward to our continued efforts to drive further innovation in this area in Germany and around the world.
He said
SEE: Mastercard Releases New Biometric Payment Option ‘Smile To Pay’
A study supported by Mastercard claims that a solid majority would readily use these types of integrations. The company wrote:
‘A study conducted by the German market research company GfK on behalf of Mastercard shows that around half of 18- to 39-year-olds would order and pay for services and goods directly via the infotainment display. The proponents would like to use in-car payment primarily for everyday car-related services: 60 percent would pay their gas bill or electric vehicle charging directly via the car.’
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
Just when you think you’ve seen and thought of it all, then you see someone up the ante on foolishness and stupidity. Imagine (and try to comprehend this!) that you are now going to link not just your personal credit card and banking information, but your fingerprint to your car – that can easily be hacked with cheap devices and other tools!
But, then again, Mercedes, like all of the others, have the most absurd privacy policies you will ever read, which I reported on and exposed not that long ago; something you should seriously check into.
As I often say, convenience is a killer; and the sheer amount of laziness anymore continues to get more and more psychotic. I mean, by their own words, storing some loose change in your cupholder and glovebox to pay for gas is somehow now an inconvenience, and their solution makes “payments easier.”
A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
Proverbs 19:24
And of course this is yet another step towards the mark of the beast, by continuing to normalize this type of practice. Avoid modern cars. They are slave rides.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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Crazy yet believable whats going on all over the world right now but its all falling in place what the Bible said would happen