Apple wants you to be able to pay for your fuel directly from the dashboard of your CarPlay-equipped car. An update that should arrive this fall.
During WWDC 2022, Apple presented its new update for CarPlay, its operating system dedicated to car dashboards. In particular, we find the possibility of pressing an application to buy fuel directly, thus avoiding the usual payment process during which you have to insert your bank card and enter your code.
No need to take out your credit card at the gas station by paying with CarPlay
This feature will only be available at partner stations. In the United States, the HF chain Sinclair, which manages around 1,600 service stations, has declared that it wants to use this technology. Reuters also interviewed Donald Frieden, CEO of P97 Networks, which manages the infrastructure for digital fuel payments. According to him, oil companies are ready to make their applications work with CarPlay, without naming names. He is very excited to see this feature in use:
“It’s a huge market and consumers really want to eliminate friction in the checkout process.”
To use this new feature, users will need to download a fuel supplier’s app to their iPhone and enter their payment information. Once the configuration is complete, it will then be possible to activate a pump and pay directly from the CarPlay interface of the dashboard of their car.
An interface to make life easier for drivers
Beyond navigation, Apple is enhancing the experience to help drivers perform certain tasks while they’re driving. This is particularly the case of voice commands with Siri, the location of parking spaces or the display of ChargePoint electric charging stations.
Apple would like to go even further by having access to certain vehicle settings to be able to adjust the seats and the air conditioning from CarPlay. But the Californian company must face the reluctance of car manufacturers who also have their own agendas.
Reuters gives the example of the American giant General Motors, which in 2017 offered a system for purchasing fuel from its vehicles. The service had to close this year “due to the departure of a supplier from the company”. Apple will therefore have to find solid partners to make this functionality viable and sustainable over time.
Source :
Reuters