In-car payment possibilities explored by commercetools

In-car payments are a new trend in the automotive industry. They allow drivers and passengers to use their cars as a platform for accessing various services and products, such as shopping, entertainment, travel, parking, and more. According to predictions used by commercetools, in-car payments are expected to generate a considerable business opportunity worth $212 billion by 2025.

However, in-car payments also pose some challenges for car manufacturers and consumers. Car manufacturers need to create connected cars that can integrate with different payment providers, offer seamless and secure user experiences, and adapt to changing customer preferences and market demands. Consumers need to trust that their in-car payments are safe, convenient, and reliable and that they can access the services and products they want without compromising their privacy or data.

This is what commercetools decided to resolve. The company is a leading provider of MACH-based technology, which they want to apply to in-car payments. MACH stands for microservices, API-first, cloud-native, and headless. This means that commercetools offers a flexible, scalable, and modular platform. Their goal is to enable car manufacturers to create connected cars offering direct-to-consumer mobility services and providing unified experiences throughout the customer journey.

One of the features that commercetools suggests using is functions-on-demand. This allows car owners to customize their driving experience by purchasing additional functions and features, such as lighting, driving assist systems, engine capabilities, infotainment, and more. These functions can be activated through a license instead of changing the hardware of the car. This way, car owners can tailor their cars to their needs and preferences without having to buy a new one. It is worth mentioning that soft-locking some functions using software is often criticized, as it was with old iPhones.

In-car payments will also use voice interfaces, allowing passengers to interact with apps and services using built-in voice assistants such as Amazon Echo.