Drivers of Škoda ICE vehicles in select European countries are now able to pay for fuel via their in-car dashboard touchscreen using the Pay to Fuel service.
The Czech-based vehicle manufacturer Škoda is rolling out its new in-car payments ‘Pay to Fuel‘ service. It enables owners of Škoda ICE vehicles in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland to pay for fuel via the car’s infotainment system. The service is provided in collaboration with Mastercard, Parkopedia and the German FinTech company called ryd.
The in-car navigation system lists all the fuel stations supporting the given payment method. The driver should arrive at one of the select locations, open the app on the vehicle’s display, confirm the petrol station and enter the pump number.
After refuelling is over, drivers can pay via their credit or debit card from the car’s infotainment touchscreen. The amount of fuel is automatically confirmed on the infotainment screen. The driver makes a purchase, then receives a transaction notification in the MyŠkoda app and on the vehicle screen and can pull away.
As for the technical requirements, in-car Škoda payments leverage an up-to-date Amundsen or Columbus infotainment system with a touchscreen of 9.2 inches or larger, an active Škoda Connect account with the Remote Access feature enabled, and the MyŠkoda smartphone app for initial payment card verification.
The company plans to add Portugal and Spain to the list of supported countries soon. There are also plans to launch the service in the Czech market later on.
According to a recent survey, over 50% of the drivers in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy and China see the ability to make in-car payments for parking, fuel, tolls and food as a top priority for connected car services available.
Different kinds of in-car payments have already been introduced by BMW, Mercedes, and other companies.
