Hyundai Jumps Into In-Car Payments With Hyundai Pay

Hyundai Motor North America has launched Hyundai Pay, an in-car payments app that will enable drivers to find and pay for products and services using stored credit card information and the vehicle’s touchscreen. Hyundai owners will initially be able to use the app to locate, reserve, and pay for parking at 6,000 locations in the United States through a partnership with connected-car services provider Parkopedia.

Hyundai Pay will initially be available on the 2024 Hyundai Kona, a small SUV. The automaker plans to make Hyundai Pay and the parking-payment service available on nine additional models through model-year changes or over-the-air updates.

Additional payment capabilities, including payments for costs related to electric vehicles, are in the works, the automaker says. Hyundai launched its first in-car payments application in 2018.

The arrival of Hyundai Pay is part of a growing trend in in-car payments, which enable consumers to purchase fuel and meals and pay for auto repairs, in addition to other types of purchases.

To access Hyundai Pay, car owners download the MyHyundai mobile app and activate the Bluelink subscription agreement. Bluelink is Hyundai’s connected-car app, which buyers receive free for three years. Bluelink enables Hyundai owners to remotely start their vehicle, lock and unlock its doors, locate it in a parking lot, run a full vehicle diagnostic check, and map routes to a destination. Hyundai owners will be able to access Hyundai Pay through the Bluelink app. Card data stored within the Hyundai Pay wallet is tokenized.

“Hyundai Pay is the latest example of our continuous advancements in smart mobility and software-defined vehicles,” Olabisi Boyle, vice president, product planning and mobility strategy, Hyundai Motor North America, says in a statement. “With Hyundai Pay’s scalable e-commerce platform, we can elevate customer convenience and extend their digital reach by making everyday needs—like finding and paying for parking—easier, swifter, and safer via our connected-car, integrated-cockpit, and secure-transaction technology.”

Hyundai says it chose to make parking the first payment application for Hyundai Pay because 94% of drivers in the U.S. face difficulties when locating parking spaces, including 18% who encounter issues finding a space on every parking search, according to Parkopedia’s 2023 Global Driver Survey. The survey also revealed that 58% of U.S. drivers want to be able to search for parking through their vehicle and 68% want to pay for parking through their vehicle’s media system.

“American motorists report significant challenges in finding parking and a distinct desire for in-car parking services, with U.S. Hyundai drivers showing a particular interest in accessing parking information through their vehicles,” Parkopedia’s chief operating officer, Hans Puvogel, says in a statement.