Hyundai Working On In-Vehicle Payments For Gas, Food And Parking

Hyundai and Xevo are teaming up to bring in-vehicle payments to the company’s popular lineup of sedans and crossovers.

While the technology is still being billed as a concept at this point, Hyundai demonstrated the system earlier today in Detroit. It will allow drivers to find participating partners and pay for services without ever having to leave their vehicle.

Besides showcasing the technology, Hyundai hinted at a handful of partnerships including one with ParkWhiz. This will allow customers to find, reserve and pay for parking using the infotainment system.

Likewise, customers will be able to pay for gas at participating Chevron and Texaco stations without leaving their vehicle. This process is a tad more involved as users will need to open the My Hyundai app on the infotainment system, select fuel and then select the gas station they’re at. Users will then have to hit the pay button, enter the pump number, confirm the payment and then remember a three digital activation code. They will then have to enter that code at the pump and then fuel their vehicle as usual. That’s an insanely complicated process compared to simply using a credit or debit card at the pump.

If that wasn’t enough steps, customers can order and pay for Applebee’s To Go. The process is largely identical to paying for gas but this time users will need to order an actual meal. Users can select favorite orders to streamline the process but it still seems odd to be ordering food from an infotainment system. On the bright side, Applebee’s will deliver the food to your car so no one has to know you eat at Applebee’s.

While it’s easy to poke fun at the system, Hyundai Motor America’s senior group manager of vehicle technology planning, Cason Grover, said “We are always learning and exploring with Blue Link.” He went on to say “Usage-based insurance and in-vehicle payment can offer savings and convenience to our customers, and we look forward to offering these services.”