This Wallet Would Never Fit In Your Pocket

But many Americans are asking for it.

Transcript

Digital payment solutions have become so commonplace that some consumers now regularly leave the house without the one key item that was once indispensable – a wallet.

And while it’s convenient to leverage apps like Apple Pay and flash your phone at the checkout, ideas are simmering as to which other form factors might serve as future ways to settle a tab.

A recent survey explores Americans’ comfort level with the prospect of using their vehicle as a digital wallet and, surprisingly, a small majority like this idea.

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Verra Mobility asked drivers of vehicles that are model year 2019 or newer their thoughts on using their car to pay for things like parking, tolls or drive-thrus and found a widely receptive audience: Of the 2000 people surveyed, 54% said they’d enable such a feature if it were available.

According to AutoBlog, 91% of the new cars sold in 2020 were considered “connected vehicles” so it stands to reason that integrating a payment system into these tech-heavy devices would be a next step.

And while survey respondents said they’d pay more for increasingly connected devices, more than two-thirds said they don’t want to pull out their phones to enable them – meaning seamless features like a vehicle as digital wallet might fit the bill.

And along with this transition comes another, perhaps more desirable one for automakers: as more features tailored to driver experience become available, the idea of vehicle subscription services is normalized. 

The survey said 40% of respondents had either paid for or renewed subscription services directly through their vehicles’ infotainment systems. Autoblog says these findings “could pave the way for automakers to offer more advanced, fee-based features in the future.”

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