Mercedes rolls out contactless in-vehicle fuel payments in Germany

Mercedes drivers in Germany can now make contactless in-car payments for fuel directly from their Mercedes me app or via their vehicle’s infotainment system using the luxury car maker’s new Fuel & Pay digital payments service.

Once they have activated the service and selected their payment option, drivers can use it to pay for their fuel at more than 900 participating filling stations across Germany.

The service is being automatically integrated into a Mercedes me app update for both Android and iOS users as well as into vehicles equipped with the company’s MBUX head unit and infotainment system.

How it works

“Customers use the map view on their head unit to select a participating filling station and start the navigation,” Mercedes explains.

“The filling station is automatically identified by means of the geofencing function the moment the engine is switched off at the destination — and the customer selects the desired pump.

“The system now calculates the maximum amount for fuelling based on the tank capacity, the fuel type and fuel price, and the customer authorises to reserve that amount for payment.

“The only thing non-digital that is left is the fuelling itself — the driver has to get out of the vehicle and operate the pump for this purpose.

“Only the actual amount of the fuel pumped is charged to the account. This gives customers optimal transparency and oversight. 

“The payment transaction is concluded after the end of the fuelling process. The customer immediately receives a confirmation via display message in the Mercedes me app or within MBUX and can continue the trip right away.

“For documentation purposes, the customer is sent a fuel receipt via email or Mercedes me inbox message that includes all the information such as filling quantity, fuel type and price per litre.” 

Mercedes plans to roll out the Fuel & Pay service to other European countries including Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland “by the end of 2021”.