Hyundai is introducing a new way to pay for things from inside your vehicle. It's through a new platform called Hyundai Pay that will launch on the all-new 2024 Hyundai Kona due out this fall.
The Hyundai Pay system allows drivers to find and pay for things with their vehicle's touchscreen using securely stored credit card information. Hyundai is partnering with Parkopedia to launch Hyundai Pay's first service, a new parking payment system. It allows U.S. drivers to locate, reserve and pay for parking at 6,000 locations - all from inside their vehicle, after an initial set-up.
The automaker says Hyundai Pay will roll out to nine other vehicles via model year changes or over-the-air updates. The system will also add more features in the future including ones for EVs. Hyundai says payments are kept secure using tokenization (replacing card account details with a unique digital identifier, or token, that keeps data from being compromised).
"Hyundai Pay is the latest example of our continuous advancements in smart mobility and software-defined vehicles," said Olabisi Boyle, vice president, product planning and mobility strategy, Hyundai Motor North America. "With Hyundai Pay's scalable e-commerce platform, we can elevate customer convenience and extend their digital reach by making every day needs—like finding and paying for parking—easier, swifter and safer via our connected-car, integrated-cockpit and secure-transaction technology."
Finding a parking spot can be stressful. According to Parkopedia's 2023 Global Driver Survey, 94% of those surveyed faced difficulties when trying to find a parking space, including 18% who encountered issues finding a space on every parking search. The study also found significant demand amongst American drivers for being able to find parking while inside their vehicles, with 58% wanting to be able to search for parking through their vehicle and 68% wanting to pay for parking through their in-car 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," Hans Puvogel, Chief Operating Officer at Parkopedia, said. "We are proud to be the first in-car commerce service to launch on the future-proof Hyundai Pay platform, which shows significant faith in the auto-grade quality of our services from one of the leading automakers. We look forward to additional models and vehicle services going live in the future."
Drivers can also access the Hyundai Pay system through Hyundai's Bluelink connected car services app.
Photo Credit: Hyundai.