BlackBerry Revs Up the Engine for Connected Car Payments

Vehicle-based payments got a boost Wednesday with BlackBerry Ltd.’s introduction of a new app to enable secure payments from a car’s dashboard. The app, which leverages the concept of the connected car, acts like a mobile wallet that connects to a payment network to enable a variety of transactions, including fuel purchases, toll, parking and insurance payments, as well as paying for vehicle maintenance. 

The app, developed in partnership with Car IQ Inc., an Oakland, Calif.-based provider of financial technology, connects a vehicle directly to a merchant and payment network, as well as the consumer’s bank or card issuer, to facilitate payments. 

Data from the car is used to create a unique ID for each vehicle that allows Car IQ to validate the vehicle to initiate a transaction. Car IQ’s technology leverages BlackBerry’s IVY platform, a cloud-based solution that allows automakers to securely read vehicle-sensor data and gain insights about the vehicle from it. BlackBerry’s new app connects the car directly to the merchant and the consumer’s bank simultaneously.

“Our ability to see into the car adds another layer of benefit for the bank, the car owner, and the merchant. They can see exactly who the car is and if it is authenticated to pay, and they can validate the service the car is requesting,” Car IQ chief executive and founder Sterling Pratz says by email. “For example, when a car purchases fuel, our platform can see the car, the size of its gas tank, and the number of gallons inside. We use this information to tell the merchant the maximum amount of fuel the car will receive, then check back in with the car after fueling to verify how much it actually received.”

BlackBerry’s and Car IQ’s technology enables consumers to initiate payment for fuel, tolls, and services from the dashboard of their vehicle without a credit card. “Vehicle payments are easier to use, more secure, and 5 times faster than [physical] credit card payments,” Pratz says.

BlackBerry’s application is part of the connected-car concept that makes automobiles part of the Internet of Things by allowing the vehicle to share Internet access and data with other devices inside and outside the vehicle. Transactions initiated through connected cars are projected to reach more than $620 billion annually by 2030, according to Ptolemus Consulting Group. 

Ptolemus expects fuel purchases and parking payments to be the primary transactions made by consumers driving connected cars. Content subscriptions, software updates, electric-vehicle charging, and food and beverage and grocery purchases are also expected to be common transactions made from a vehicle.

“Major auto manufacturers are building commerce and entertainment functionality into their vehicles’ tech platforms while at the same time Apple, Google, and now BlackBerry are offering connected-car functionality through their devices,” Thad Peterson, a senior analyst for Aite-Novarica Group, says by email. 

Although the facilitation of payments through the connected car is still evolving, the addition of payment capabilities is a logical step, according to Peterson. “Linking the device that the customer uses all the time is a logical capability for a smart phone to deliver and it potentially creates less friction for the user than having to access the vehicle’s platform,” he says. 

BlackBerry, which was once a major player in the cellular phone market, has expanded its business beyond phones in the past decade to intelligent security software and services for enterprises and governments around the world. The company leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver cybersecurity and safety and data-privacy solutions, as well as endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems.