An in-car Bluetooth payments system under development will help auto dealerships move inventory in the near future. It’s now being beta tested on parking meters, but developers will soon focus on fuel pumps. Other companies are expected to assimilate the process once the wrinkles are ironed out, and use it to sell drive-through goods such as burgers, coffee, prescription drugs, car washes and even Las Vegas weddings.
The payments system prototype is a cooperative effort of VISA, American Honda, Gilbarco Veeder-Root (fuel pumps) and IPS Groups (parking meters) according to an article in DigitalTransactions.net that is accompanied by a demonstration video.
"We are working with different OEMs to understand what’s best for consumers,” said Avid Arumugam, VISA’s senior VP of the Internet of Things.Salespeople at auto dealerships will be able to demo the technology as soon as the innovation transcends technical issues and stimulates merchant and consumer interest.
For openers, connectivity across various auto manufacturer dashboards needs to be addressed, but card companies will be incentivized by the desire to expand the distribution points of electronic payments.
Card companies and automakers believe consumers will be reluctant to change cards once they enroll in a particular system, so they will be driven to secure their loyalty first.
While credit and debit cards are widely used for small purchases (totaling $3.16 trillion and $2.56 trillion in 2015, respectively, per the 2016 Federal Reserve Payments Study), checks are the preferred payment method of choice for large purchases such as placing a down payment at auto dealerships.
The Federal Reserve study reported a whopping $26.8 trillion in purchases made with checks — nine-to-ten times that of debit or credit cards.
CrossCheck developed the C.A.R.S. program (CrossCheck's Auto Industry RDC Solution) especially for auto dealerships who successfully use the tool to confirm the theory of “check processing made profitable.”
C.A.R.S. streamlines check processing and guarantees check transactions while consumers are in the F&I box. Features include Multiple Check, Check on Delivery (COD) for parts and service departments, and desktop conversion that eliminates trips to the bank. With each authorized check, funds are automatically processed and deposited into the dealership's account while online reporting enables around-the-clock access to status and activity. Learn more by downloading our free guide.
