A connected car concept that pays off
Visa Checkout demonstration has drivers buying products through infotainment system
It wasn’t so long ago that suggesting we’d all one day be walking around with Internet-enabled, phoneshaped computers in our pockets would have gotten you funny looks.
In that context, the idea that we might soon be able to access the Internet from our cars doesn’t seem that far-fetched.
Analysts agree that the next five years will mark a revolution in automotive connectivity.
Technology research firm Gartner predicts that by 2020, there will be 250 million Internet-enabled cars on the road, and Business Insider Intelligence says that by the end of the same period, 75 per cent of new cars will ship with Internet capability
For those who want a piece of the pie, that leaves precious little time to work out which potential offerings are going to resonate most with consumers.
Visa thinks it has hit on something. Throughout last fall’s Toronto International Film Festival, the corner of King and Simcoe Sts. played home to a large display of Visa’s future technology demonstrations, including the Canadian debut of a working model of the company’s connected car concept.
“Cars already have operating systems, but they don’t really have an intuitive, tied-together user interface for that operating system,” says Derek Colfer, head of technology and digital innovation for Visa Canada. “That’s what we’re highlighting here.”
The connected car demo walks users through several scenarios where their commuting lives are made easier by paying for products and services right from their vehicle’s infotainment system, using secure Visa Checkout technology.
One obvious application is in paying for gas. The demonstration begins with the car notifying the driver that fuel is low, offering to find a local service station, and giving directions via GPS. On arrival, the driver selects the amount of gas to purchase, adds other items from the convenience store — such as a coffee — and then pays for it all with a push of the Visa Checkout button on the touchscreen.
There’s potential in other areas as well, such as picking up a quick dinner on the way home.
With a few taps, you could peruse the menu at your local pizza place, put in your order, let the car guide you there via the fastest route and have your food ready and paid for when you arrive.
This is largely in the ideas phase, of course, and Colfer concedes that there are hurdles to overcome before this concept can become reality.
“There are lots of people in the sandbox that need to get along,” he says. “You’ve got automobile manufacturers, you’ve got operating systems, you’ve got the beacon folks (who develop the technology that allows mobile devices to interact with storefronts), you’ve got the merchants.
“I think that when the payment networks get involved in it, it will proliferate very quickly.”
The one part of the equation that already exists is the necessary technology on Visa’s end through their Visa Checkout and mobile payment systems.
“Once you’ve got that Visa acceptance stamp as a merchant and on your card as a consumer, when you digitally enable that, it allows for that interoperability immediately,” Colfer explains.
Another potential roadblock is concern for safety, which is already a part of the discussion.
“We feel with the distracted driving laws that are in place today, that this would need to be enabled when the car is in park,” Colfer says. “This isn’t something you would be doing as you were driving.”
Regardless, the concept will likely appeal to many of today’s busy consumers, because it helps them recover more of what is becoming their most precious commodity.
“There’s not a lot of time on the clock these days,” Colfer says.
“If we can get consumers’ time back in their day, in many instances these days, that’s worth more than money.”